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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24210475">She-Ra: In The Wake</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/QwahaXahn/pseuds/QwahaXahn'>QwahaXahn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Canon Compliant, Canon Continuation, Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Canon Lesbian Character, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Catra (She-Ra)-centric, Entrapta (She-Ra)-centric, F/F, F/M, Gay, Good Parent Angella (She-Ra), IN SPACE!, Jock Adora (She-Ra), Lesbian Adora (She-Ra), Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), Lesbian Character of Color, Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), Lesbians in Space, M/M, Outer Space, Post-Canon, Post-Finale, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, Princess Adora (She-Ra), Queen Glimmer (She-Ra), Season/Series 06, Space Battles, Space Opera, Useless Lesbians, catradora</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:13:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>52,106</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24210475</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/QwahaXahn/pseuds/QwahaXahn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The war is over. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power have defeated Horde Prime's armada and freed the universe from his grasp. So... what comes next?</p><p>AKA She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Season 6</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora &amp; Bow &amp; Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora &amp; Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow &amp; Glimmer (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>953</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Episode 1: All That I Am</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> She-Ra: In The Wake </span>
</p><p>Episode 1: All That I Am</p><p> </p><p>FOR THE FIRST TIME IN WEEKS, HORDAK AWOKE TO SILENCE.</p><p>He stared up at the metal ceiling, swallowed by the quiet. He was no stranger to this sensation. Years of isolation from his brethren in Despondos had prepared him for the aftermath of Horde Prime’s demise. Yet, this time was different. Before, he had known the others were out there in the stars. He could hope that one day, he would awaken and be connected to them once more. Even if he had been cut off, the network still existed. Not anymore. The whispers of the Horde hive mind had been silenced forever.</p><p>Recognizing that all chances of further sleep had now slipped away, Hordak sat up and moved to the edge of his cot. He combed his sparse mop of hair—once again dyed blue—out of his crimson eyes. After breaking free of Prime’s control, he’d restored his old appearance as soon as possible. He had needed a way to reassert his identity. To prove to himself that he was well and truly free this time.</p><p>He stood and walked to the sink on the other side of his narrow quarters. Staring into the mirror, he could almost pretend his big brother’s face looked back at him.</p><p>“And to think,” he muttered, “I spent all that time trying to return to you.”</p><p>He narrowed his eyes, and then turned away.</p><p>His long strides had carried him across the length of the room quickly. His quarters were among the smallest here. To be expected, given the circumstances. The rebellion’s forces had spread out across Etheria, and Hordak had returned to the Fright Zone with Scorpia and Entrapta.</p><p>Entrapta. Hordak... wasn’t sure he could think about her yet.</p><p>Scorpia had retaken control of her family’s kingdom, and was working to re-establish control with Bow’s administrative assistance. Hordak had made a point to keep track of the princesses’ whereabouts as they dispersed.</p><p>Mermista, Perfuma, Netossa, Spinnerella, and Frosta had all returned to their kingdoms. In Mystacor, Glimmer was training in sorcery under King Micah. Castaspella had taken over Bright Moon in the interim. Huntara... Admittedly, Hordak had lost track of her. She hadn’t shared her plans, electing instead to disappear.</p><p>Hordak put a hand to the back of his neck, where the bio-port that had linked him to Horde Prime used to be. Entrapta had closed it for good the day before.</p><p>Hordak looked to the door. Perhaps it was time he emerged to face the day.</p><p>He sat down on his cot. “Or perhaps not.”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Glimmer stood on the edge of Mystacor’s floating isle, stretching her wings. The tiny twin appendages she’d had all her life had finally grown to their full size—she figured it had something to do with the sudden release of Etheria's magic from the First Ones' machine—and she was still getting used to it. First, a strong, reforged connection to the Moonstone had made her powers almost limitless, and now she had two iridescent wings to keep track of. She’d already knocked several delicate things off of tables.</p><p>“You’re so much like your mother,” her father’s voice said quietly from behind her.</p><p>Glimmer turned around and smiled softly at him. Micah had cleaned up since their return to Mystacor. He wore a sorcerer’s robe and trappings, with his hair neatly tied in a bun, not unlike his sister’s. Glimmer noted that he seemed uncomfortable in the new clothes. After Beast Island... perhaps he’d always have a preference for staying unkempt.</p><p>“And I don’t just mean your hair, or your wings,” he continued, walking forward to join her at the edge. “You have her intelligence. Her willpower...” he chuckled. “She was always so strong. I imagine you two argued quite a bit.”</p><p>“You have no idea,” Glimmer replied. “I miss her.”</p><p>Micah lowered his head a little and nodded. “I do too. But she’d be so proud of who you grew up to be.”</p><p>“She’d be proud of you too,” Glimmer said, looking over at him.</p><p>Micah’s eyes watered. He continued to stare out at the fluffy clouds drifting past. “You think so?”</p><p>“I know so. Now come on.” She took his hand. “Ready for our first day of daddy-daughter sorcerer training?”</p><p>Micah smiled broadly. “I certainly am.”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Bow finished pushing the crate to the right side of the room with a grunt, then straightened and turned around to consider the remainder of the central pile.</p><p>“Okay,” he said. “Fully stocked on rations. What’s next?”</p><p>From across the room, Melog hummed, cocking its head in response to his words. Bow raised an eyebrow at the alien, then shook his head. No use looking for a response there. Only Catra had managed to communicate with the shapeshifting creature so far.</p><p>Bow put his hands on his hips and mulled over his mental list again. Once he’d realized the Best Friends Squad would be returning to the stars, he knew they would need to be better prepared this time, so he’d decided to use this time to gather up supplies for the journey. It had been a tough decision not to head home with his dads, but <em> somebody </em> needed to start planning ahead, and he knew he’d had a lot more time with his family than Adora and Glimmer.</p><p>Of course, then his dads had insisted on joining him in the Fright Zone, so that choice hadn’t mattered in the end anyway. He heard them in the other room, casually bantering as they went about salvaging bits and bobs from old Horde equipment. He couldn’t express how much it helped to have them here. Dealing with his feelings after the war was... a LOT. He knew he was extremely lucky to have them to lean on.</p><p>His thoughts were shattered by a zapping sound, followed by a series of loud clangs and shrieks. Heart pumping, Bow dashed for the doorway and burst into the other room to see... Entrapta, lying in a pile of cables.</p><p>“Oops,” the princess warbled into her voice recorder. “Note to self: it seems the upper vent system can no longer hold my weight.”</p><p>On either side of the overturned princess stood Lance and George, inspecting her with concerned looks on their faces. Bow simply folded his arms and sighed, knowing Entrapta would be on her feet again in seconds. Sure enough, she practically exploded upwards out of the debris, muttering manically about whatever new observations had captured her mind.</p><p>“Entrapta, could you maaaybe do your studies somewhere else?” Bow asked. “We’re trying to prepare Mara’s ship for our next expedition, and—”</p><p>Entrapta immediately perked up. “You’re taking Darla back out into space?!”</p><p>“Um,” Bow raised his eyebrows. “Yeah.”</p><p>“Fantastic! I’ll pack my tools!” The purple-haired princess scurried towards the exit, and Bow had to dash to catch her.</p><p>“Wait!” He turned Entrapta back around to look at her. “What do you mean, pack your tools?”</p><p>“Well, I’m coming with you,” Entrapta replied. “Obviously.”</p><p>Bow opened his mouth to retort, but found that he couldn’t think of a reason to argue. In all honesty, he was probably going to ask her to come along anyway. Her technical expertise had saved their lives several times on their previous mission into space.</p><p>“Okay, I guess you can come,” he said.</p><p>“Yes!” Entrapta cried. “I can’t <em> wait </em> to tell Hordak we’re going back to space!”</p><p>“Wait, wait, wait,” Bow waved his hands in front of her face. “<em> Hordak? </em> You want to bring <em> Hordak </em> with us?”</p><p>“Of course,” Entrapta replied. “I couldn’t leave without my lab partner. Besides, he knows the Horde empire and will be an excellent guide!”</p><p>“What about Wrong Hordak?” Bow asked. “Wouldn’t he be great too?”</p><p>“Wrong Hordak is still adjusting to life on Etheria,” George noted. “But Hordak has hardly left his room in days. Getting out and about might be good for him.”</p><p>“Dad!” Bow cried. “You want us to help Hordak?”</p><p>“I admit,” Lance said, “it takes some getting used to. But he was a victim of Prime, the same as we were.”</p><p>“I <em> know </em> he’s not bad like people say,” Entrapta declared. “He’s just... he needs some time.” The geek princess’s face became drawn and tense. “I know this mission would help.”</p><p>Bow scrunched up his face, thinking it over. Finally, he relented with a sigh.</p><p>“Sure. You and Hordak will both join our mission. Go make sure he gets packed.”</p><p>“HOORAY!” Entrapta dashed out of the room, cackling.</p><p>Bow turned around to see his dads smiling at him. He grinned back as they pulled him into a family hug. He’d missed this.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Nothing had ever felt as right as this morning. Adora didn’t even need to open her eyes; she could feel Catra purring against her chest from the moment she awoke. The cat girl’s arms were wrapped around the blonde’s waist, her head buried in Adora’s chest. Adora blinked her eyes open and looked down, taking in the sight of her... she didn’t even know what to call her anymore. Her one? Her only?</p><p>She buried her nose in Catra’s coarse hair, breathing in the scent she had missed for so long after leaving the Horde. The dark-haired girl shifted in response, letting out a quiet <em> mrrrrmp </em>. Adora suppressed a snort. Catra would never accept how cute she really was.</p><p>Adora’s eyes flicked to the tent flap. A soft warmth eked into the cloth enclosure, accompanied by a ray of rich orange light. Suddenly struck by an urge to witness this moment, Adora attempted to delicately extricate herself from Catra’s grasp. The feline girl groaned as the blonde got up and tiptoed toward the tent exit.</p><p>“Hey, Adora,” Catra mumbled. “Where’re you goin’? Come back to bed.”</p><p>Adora looked back at her and smirked. “No can do. I want to see the sunrise.”</p><p>“Urggh,” Catra buried her head in their pillow.</p><p>“Come onnnn,” Adora reached out a hand. “Etheria’s first magical sunrise in thousands of years. Share it with me?”</p><p>Catra peeked up at her with her yellow eye, but couldn’t hide the smile that grew on her face. “Fine. But not because I like you.”</p><p>She reached up and took Adora’s hand, and the taller girl pulled her to her feet and into a gentle embrace.</p><p>“I know.” Adora grinned. “Because you love me.”</p><p>“Mmm, don’t push it,” Catra replied.</p><p>The two brought their foreheads together and kissed, long and slow.</p><p>Then, hand-in-hand, they stepped out of the tent and into the cool morning air. The pair had set up camp in the open fields near the site of the final battle, tucking their tent out of the way, beside a large boulder. The other princesses had moved on pretty quickly, returning to their kingdoms to begin the lengthy process of rebuilding. Adora remembered her last conversation with Glimmer, the day before.</p><p>
  <em> “That’s the last of the others.” Glimmer had said after reappearing in a flash of light. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off somewhere?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I’m sure,” Adora had replied, looking across the rolling hills to where Catra stood, observing the landscape. “I have to make up for lost time.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Glimmer had smiled and given her a hug. “You two take all the time you need.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Thanks, Glimmer. But we won’t be too long. We’ve got an adventure to do, don’t we?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “There’s always an adventure waiting,” Glimmer had replied, placing a hand on Adora’s shoulder. “Take some time. Appreciate the ones you love.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I will. You too—tell King Micah I said hi.” </em>
</p><p>Catra shivered in the breeze, her fur standing on end. She felt the cold only for a moment before Adora gently placed her red jacket around the cat girl’s shoulders.</p><p>“I don’t need this,” Catra muttered.</p><p>Adora just laughed, walking further away from the tent.</p><p>“I don’t!” Catra called, jogging after her. “And what’s with these ridiculous shoulder pads?”</p><p>The two sat down on the grass and looked up at the horizon. Rich purples and oranges melted into the starry blue. Pinpricks of red and yellow and green traced across the skyscape, shimmering and dancing with a vibrance neither woman had seen before. Catra leaned her head against Adora’s shoulder, and Adora wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer in.</p><p>“I wish we could stay like this forever,” the cat girl murmured.</p><p>Adora squeezed her gently. “I know.”</p><p>“But you’re the champion of the universe now, aren’t you?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>Catra growled. “I don’t want to share.”</p><p>Adora looked down at her, and Catra looked up to meet her gaze. The blonde caressed the shorter girl’s cheek and smiled softly. “We’re going to face a lot more danger, and a lot more evil, and a lot more everything. I’ve got a job to do, and I’m going to do everything I can to help the universe heal from what Horde Prime and the First Ones did to it.”</p><p>Catra’s brow furrowed. “Your point is...?”</p><p>“I am always going to have a million important problems to deal with,” Adora continued. “But from now until forever, you will <em> always </em> come first.”</p><p>The cat girl felt her eyes welling up again, but she gritted her teeth. She was <em> not </em> going to cry again. Except... she definitely was.</p><p>“I love you, Catra,” Adora said, “with all that I am.”</p><p>Catra choked back a sob. “You have no idea how long I waited to hear that. Idiot.”</p><p>And again, they kissed.</p><p>High up above them in the sky, near the edge of Etheria’s atmosphere, a sudden flash of blue light, unlike anything else in the sunrise, cut a streak in the air. It hung there for a moment, and then vanished without a trace.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Episode 2: Things Change</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Six weeks later, the Best Friends Squad is gearing up to meet for their space adventure... but the world has other plans.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> She-Ra: In The Wake </span>
</p><p>Episode 2: Things Change</p><p> </p><p>GLIMMER READIED HERSELF, RAISING HER ARMS IN FRONT OF HER FACE.</p><p>Across from her on the dais, her father stood tall, left arm tucked behind his back and the other at his side. Glimmer eyed Micah, crouching in preparation for his first assault. His fingers twitched, but Glimmer did not react. After six weeks of daily combat sessions, she’d gotten to know his style. Micah’s opening spell would be cast with his other hand, the one he held out of her sight.</p><p>Glimmer began slowly pacing around the outside of the platform. Her father responded in kind, and the two circled one another for a tense moment. Glimmer deftly traced a magic circle into the air with her left hand, and as the purple-pink symbols flashed into being, she thrust her left hand forward.</p><p>“Haah!” she shouted, loosing a bolt of crystalline energy.</p><p>Micah sidestepped the attack and brought his hidden hand into view. Sure enough, he’d gathered up magical energy into his palm, and now focused it through a circle of his own. From the glowing shape, vine-like green tendrils burst forth and surged toward the young queen.</p><p>Glimmer fought the instinct to teleport away, and instead quickly sketched a new image into the air. As the vines impacted her magical design, a ripple of energy ran through them, transforming them into fluffy cloud-like material. She clenched her open hands shut, causing the former-plants to explode into a mist which covered the entire training area, so that neither combatant could see the other anymore.</p><p>“Very good,” Micah’s voice drifted from the fog. “Effective counterspell which changes the playing field.”</p><p>Glimmer paced forward, toward the sound of his voice. She scanned the dense cloud cover, trying to make out his form. She ignited another magic circle, this one creating a small fireball which hovered just above her palm.</p><p>“Only one problem,” Micah’s voice now came from directly behind her.</p><p>Glimmer spun on the spot to see her father deftly sweeping the mist aside. She raised her fire-charged hand, but he’d already launched a thin bolt of electric energy which pierced her fireball. With a loud bang, Glimmer’s spell exploded, launching her backwards off of the dais. She tumbled across the stone floor and came to a stop against one of the many pillars which ringed the outside of the outdoor pavilion.</p><p>Micah stepped out of the fog and into view. Glimmer saw the look of concern on his face, and so she smiled up at him to assure him she was not hurt. He reached out a hand and helped her to her feet.</p><p>“When you change the environment like that,” Micah advised, “make sure you’re altering things in your favor.” He tapped his head, and his eyes momentarily glowed. “True-seeing enchantment.”</p><p>Glimmer rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Oh. Oops.”</p><p>He smiled gently at her. “You’re making wonderful progress, my dear. You’re able to hold your own against any of the sorcerers in Mystacor without using your powers at all.”</p><p>“<em> You </em> still beat me every time, though,” Glimmer replied. “I barely lasted a minute.”</p><p>“I’ve spent more time studying magic than you have been alive,” Micah reminded her. “Your progress is truly impressive, especially in such a short time.”</p><p>Glimmer nodded, a smile breaking loose. “Thanks, Dad. I only wish we had more time to prepare.”</p><p>“You don’t need to leave so soon,” he reminded her. “You could always take a few more weeks.”</p><p>Glimmer shook her head. “Entrapta and Bow have been using Prime’s systems to communicate with the Star siblings. There’s a whole universe out there in need of She-Ra and the princesses. We have to leave today.”</p><p>Micah pulled his daughter into a hug, and she smiled into his loose robes. “I am so proud of you, Glimmer.”</p><p>“I love you, Dad.” She looked up at him. “I’ll miss you out there.”</p><p>“Make sure you call every day,” he said. “Now that magic is back, you can use that long-range message spell I taught you.”</p><p>“Or I can just ask Entrapta to call home,” she reminded him.</p><p>Micah shrugged. “That too.”</p><p>As the two headed back up the stone path toward the halls of magic, Glimmer couldn’t help but feel excitement welling up within her. She would certainly miss her father, and all her friends on Etheria, but she’d have been lying if she said the prospect of a new adventure with Adora and Bow didn’t seem like the greatest thing in the universe.</p><p>Of course, things were going to be different this time. Entrapta and Hordak had apparently signed on too, and Glimmer knew that she’d need to adjust to having Catra along for the ride. And yet, that was the best part.</p><p>Things change, but the truly important parts always stay the same.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>“C’mon, Catra! If we don’t pick up the pace, we’ll be late to the rendezvous point.”</p><p>The feline girl folded her arms and cocked her head. “I don’t get it. Why couldn’t we just tell Sparkles where we are and have <em> her </em> come to <em> us </em>?”</p><p>Adora raised an eyebrow. “Do you know how to cast a message spell?”</p><p>“Well, no, but—”</p><p>“Do you have a long-range communicator in your pack?” she asked.</p><p>Catra rolled her eyes and jogged up to walk by Adora’s side. “Whatever.”</p><p>“We’ve got to be in Erelandia by noon if we want to meet her when she arrives,” the blonde reminded her. “That’s the price we pay for going off the grid for a month.”</p><p>“Mmm,” Catra closed her eyes and smiled. “Worth it.”</p><p>Adora grinned and took her love’s hand. The two threaded their fingers together and held each other just as tightly as they had the first time, in that desperate moment of connection when all had seemed lost. They’d hardly spent a moment apart over the last six weeks, and each one took comfort in the knowledge that the other one was there.</p><p>Adora tangled her fingers in Catra’s shaggy, shoulder-length locks. “Your hair’s growing out again.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Catra twirled a lock in her fingers. “Feels good to have my neck covered up.” She touched her nape, remembering the cold metal which had intruded there when—</p><p>Adora’s gentle touch pulled her out of those memories, and Catra gave her a grateful smile.</p><p>“I like it,” the blonde said.</p><p>“Maybe I’ll grow it out some more,” Catra mused. “Do a ponytail this time.”</p><p>Adora chuckled. “Sounds good.”</p><p>Catra tilted her head back and breathed in the cool morning air. Ever since the Heart of Etheria had been destroyed, the weather across the entire planet had been intensified by the freed magical energy. Sure, the magically-charged spore storms were awful in all sorts of new and painful ways, but mornings like these made up for it.</p><p>Catra snuck a peek at her partner, taking in the way the sunlight framed her face. Adora’s hair shone like gold, and the morning glow brought out the little green flecks in her soft blue eyes. The cat girl traced a thumb along Adora’s calloused fingers, noticing for the hundredth time the way she stood up straight and tall, ready to take on the world itself. Was it any wonder that Catra had fallen in love?</p><p>Adora glanced over and caught her stare with a smirk. “Hey, Catra.”</p><p>“Hey, Adora.”</p><p>They stopped in the road, leaning in and closing their eyes. With their faces a hair’s breadth from one another, they were interrupted by a shout from further up the road. Eyes snapping open, Adora’s head turned to stare in the direction of the noise. Catra reluctantly followed her gaze. Then, Adora pulled away and ran in the direction of the cry.</p><p>“Do we <em> have </em> to?” Catra let out a long, loud groan. “Perfect timing...”</p><p>She pursued the blonde girl, catching up just as Adora turned a corner of the trail and stopped behind a horse-drawn wagon. The wagon had been surrounded by soldiers in dirty, poorly-maintained Horde uniforms. The battalion seemed to be in the middle of confiscating the belongings of a balding man with bull-like features and horns.</p><p>“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Adora shouted.</p><p>One of the soldiers looked over at her. “Stand back, civilian. This is official Horde business.”</p><p>His helmet had been painted with red streaks in a blatantly non-regulation display of vanity. Apparently, he was this unit’s excuse for a commanding officer. As former Horde cadets, both Catra and Adora knew that this would never have been allowed when Hordak was in charge.</p><p>“You’ve got one chance,” Adora warned the platoon. “Leave this man alone.”</p><p>“If you want trouble,” the red-helmeted soldier retorted, “you’ve got it, girly.”</p><p>He and his ten-odd troops turned to face down the tall girl. Catra laughed. She couldn’t help it—the soldier’s petty threat, combined with who he didn’t yet know he was facing, was too much.</p><p>“What are you laughing at?” one of the other soldiers spat.</p><p>“Oh wow, no, nothing.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “You guys are just absolutely done for.”</p><p>Wordlessly, the Horde platoon raised their weapons. Their batons, tasers, and even a couple of blasters hummed with green energy. Catra shook her head with a grin as Adora looked over her shoulder, meeting the cat girl’s eyes as if to say: Watch this.</p><p>Adora raised her hand above her head, and conjured her beautifully adorned longsword. The blade flickered into existence. As Adora’s fingers curled around the hilt, she called out into the sky:</p><p>“FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!”</p><p>In a brilliant flash of light, she transformed. Her winged boots, heart-shaped collar, and arched headpiece—reflecting the three people she loved most—formed from the air, clothing her in the unmistakable armor of the Princess of Power.</p><p>“She-Ra,” the Horde’s would-be victim murmured from atop his wagon.</p><p>Catra settled in against a tree trunk to watch the show. She had to admit, eight-foot-tall, magic glowing Adora had certainly grown on her.</p><p>Especially the sleeveless arms, Catra noted with a purr.</p><p>At least half of the Horde troops panicked as soon as they saw the warrior woman appear, scattering into the woods. The rest, including the red-helmeted commander, began frantically attacking her as she strode toward them. While the baton-wielding grunts struck at her and were easily knocked aside, the commander hung back with his blaster, pacing slowly around her to flank from behind. He raised his blaster and aimed a shot at the back of the warrior’s head, but a clawed hand grabbed the barrel of his weapon before he could fire and twisted it out of his grasp.</p><p>“Wow, you are really not good at this,” Catra observed, before leaning back and spin-kicking him into a tree. The commander slumped to the ground, unconscious.</p><p>Catra turned back to see that She-Ra had made quick work of the others—not that she’d expected anything different. The armored princess looked over at the commander and then smiled at Catra.</p><p>“What?” Catra said, inspecting her claws with disinterest. “I wasn’t doing anything.”</p><p>She-Ra stepped up next to her. “Thanks for watching my back.”</p><p>Catra elbowed her arm. “Well, duh.”</p><p>She-Ra knelt down and picked up the Horde commander by his collar. Then, she shook him like a ragdoll until he began to move around again.</p><p>“Wh— what?” He raised his head and looked back and forth between the two women.</p><p>“Why were you robbing that trader?” She-Ra asked. “The Horde is destroyed.”</p><p>“You’re—” the commander coughed. “You’re wrong.”</p><p>Catra tensed, and she reached a hand up to the back of her neck. “Horde Prime is dead.”</p><p>“Yeah,” the commander said. “And Hordak is gone. That’s why we’re with the General now.”</p><p>"The General?" She-Ra pushed the man up against the tree. “Who is the General?”</p><p>The commander just shook his head. “He stepped up after Hordak’s defeat. He’s reinventing the Horde, without all those pointless rules. All members are truly equal under his leadership.”</p><p>She-Ra narrowed her eyes. “Where is he?”</p><p>“There’s a camp... outside Erelandia...” the commander’s head was drooping again. “He’s made the town his base of operations.”</p><p>Catra and She-Ra exchanged a look. Then, the princess dropped the commander, who slumped against the tree and moaned. The pair walked a few steps away from him and whispered to one another.</p><p>“How did we not know about this?” She-Ra asked, transforming back to Adora in a flicker of light.</p><p>“We were off the grid,” Catra reminded her. “And I’m sure he took precautions to keep word from getting out until he had a base of power. That’s...” She grimaced. “That’s what I would do.”</p><p>“We have to put a stop to this,” Adora said. “We have to warn the others.”</p><p>“If he’s got control of Erelandia...” Catra mused.</p><p>Adora’s face was grim. “Glimmer is teleporting right into hostile territory.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Episode 3: Taking Action</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Adora and Catra gather intel on the new Horde, and Scorpia learns that being a leader is not her favorite gig.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Episode 3: Taking Action</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>THE HORDE SOLDIERS PATROLLING ERELANDIA WERE UNIQUE.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not only were the troops very different from the old Horde in manner and bearing, but each individual member of the army looked distinct from the rest. Their uniforms were all variations on the traditional armor Hordak developed, but they had etched and painted designs over them in all colors. It seemed that the more respected soldiers were allowed more decorative armor. Some officers even adorned their gear with scarves, bandannas, trinkets, and precious stones.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re undisciplined,” Adora observed, as an argument between two of the guards stationed outside the central gate broke out into a brawl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That doesn’t mean they’re soft,” Catra said. “Those thugs in the Crimson Waste were undisciplined, but they still put up a tough fight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two fighters were crouched in the brush, just close enough to the gate to see the comings and goings of the people around the town wall. Adora’s fingers twitched, and she fought the urge to conjure her sword. Any movement from them risked catching the eyes of the many sentries posted around the outside of the barricade.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t just charge in there as She-Ra,” Adora muttered. “The townspeople would be in danger. The General might try to use them as leverage.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Face it, Adora,” Catra said, “there are too many of them. We need backup.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The blonde girl looked at her, eyebrows raised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There are some things you can’t do alone,” Catra replied with a shrug. “I learned that from you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora nodded. “Okay. Then how do we contact the others?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra scanned Erelandia’s wall, inspecting the many soldiers—and the small handful of civilians—visible along its length. Her mismatched eyes settled on an officer carrying a small electronic datapad and wearing blue sorcerer’s robes over their Horde armor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra smiled. “I have a plan.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Bow stumbled as Melog worked its way between his legs, humming happily against him. He caught himself, carefully rebalancing the pile of thulite crystals stacked up in his arms. The pink gemstones wobbled precariously with every step, and having a large alien cat pushing him around certainly did not help Bow’s balance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kitty, please,” he implored. “Let me get these to the ship.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog sat and cocked its head, watching him. Bow sighed, then continued to slowly move toward Darla. Thankfully, the entity seemed content to watch his desperate attempts not to drop anything, and he managed to make steadier progress. He was almost to the cargo ramp when a loud voice shouted in his mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“BOW!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aaah!!” With a yell, the archer jolted at the sound. He tipped over backwards and fell onto his back, sending the fuel crystals tumbling across the metal floor. One large chunk came to a stop at Melog’s feet, and it leaned down to sniff at the gemstone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bow, are you there?” the voice continued to speak in his head. Bow recognized that sound...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adora?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bow! Ohh, I’m so glad to hear you,” the blonde warrior cried. “Listen, we don’t have much time. Someone called the General has taken over Erelandia with a small Horde army. I’m pretty sure Glimmer is inside his camp right now. Catra and I are hiding out here, but we can’t take on his forces alone. We need backup.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, woah, woah,” Bow sat up. “The General? Who is that? How have we not heard about this before?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Adora replied. “He’s been keeping a low profile. Whoever he is, he’s dangerous. Send help right away. We’ve taken one of the Horde sorcerers prisoner to cast this spell, but we don’t have any other way of communicating with you, so you might not be able to call us back. We...” Her voice became strained. “We can’t reach Glimmer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow’s expression hardened. He got to his feet and clenched his fists. “I’ll talk to the Princess Alliance immediately.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Adora replied, her voice tinged with relief. “It’s good to hear your voice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good to hear you too,” Bow replied. “Hang in there, Adora.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the spell-connection disappeared, Bow turned on his heel and ran out of the hangar as fast as he could. Melog stared after him, then turned back to regard the thulite scattered across the room with a quiet warble.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did it work?” Catra asked as Adora opened her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” the blonde replied, feeling the tension in her shoulders release somewhat. “I got through to Bow. He’s contacting the others.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked up from where she sat to see Catra looming threateningly over the enemy sorcerer, who shrank beneath her stare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I go now?” he asked, voice quavering.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two exchanged a look. They both knew they wouldn’t be able to let him return to Erelandia now that he knew they were out here.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, big guy,” Catra said. “But you’re gonna take another </span>
  <em>
    <span>nap</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She punctuated the final word with a strike to the side of his helmet which sent him slumping onto the grass.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora got to her feet and paced back and forth, thinking aloud as she went. “Best case scenario, the princesses mobilize immediately and they’re here in a couple days. Maybe sooner if they use skiffs from the Fright Zone. Who knows how long Glimmer has been in there already? Why hasn’t she teleported out? Where is she?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra intercepted the fretting fighter, taking her hands and looking up into her eyes. “Hey. Adora.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The taller girl stopped talking and returned her gaze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sparkles can take care of herself,” Catra reminded her. “No way the General’s nabbed her yet. Besides, she’s a terrible prisoner. I would know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora let out a deep breath. “You’re right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Catra smirked, folding her arms. “I always am.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora gave her a flat stare, and then elbowed her in the side. Catra yelped in response. Then, the couple devolved into quiet giggling. Catra stepped forward and took Adora’s face in her hands. Then, she got up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to the blonde girl’s mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you, Adora.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you too, Catra.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A rustling noise from the surrounding brush sent the couple into back-to-back fighting stances, as a ring of Horde thugs emerged into the clearing. Catra’s eyes darted to the sorcerer, who scrambled backwards to join his comrades.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You filthy little—” she hissed at him, but Adora took her hand and she resisted the urge to pounce. Instead, she fumed silently, glaring at him until he shrank back behind the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From amidst the trees, a new figure emerged into the clearing. Although they wore the exact same basic Horde armor as the others, their helmet had had a sharp metal crown welded to it. The rest of their armor had also been outfitted with small accoutrements and designs, and they wore a green-lined black cape affixed to their uniform with a pauldron. Adora raised an eyebrow, taking in the ornate uniform.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have done well, Sergeant.” The officer’s voice was digitally distorted and masked so as to sound genderless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sergeant?" the sorcerer asked. "I-I am a mere recruit."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not anymore."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sorcerer bowed. “Thank you, General!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So dramatic,” Catra snarked. “Bowing and scraping? Are you sure you’re the General and not a wannabe king?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She-Ra,” the General said, turning to the duo. “...And friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra snorted. “Hardly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You will accompany us into the city,” they continued, unfazed. “If you make any attempts to escape, transform, or attack, my men will execute the Queen of Bright Moon, and then the rest of the town.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora’s jaw clenched, but she said nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You understand,” the General said. “Good. Follow me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Scorpia rubbed her chin with a claw, inspecting the holographic map hovering before her. She stretched her tail out, then drew it back in, then stretched it out again. She tilted her head one way, and then the other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s no use!” she cried. “None of this makes any sense.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the corner of the room, Emily beeped quizzically. Scorpia leaned forward, placing both claws on the smooth black table which projected the image.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know, Emily,” the princess lamented. “I’m just not good at all the kingdom-y stuff.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’d been trying to understand the recovery plan Bow, Lance, and George had helped her put together and implement over the last six weeks, but she still wasn’t comfortable with the technical side of being a princess. Even when she was a Force Captain, she’d never really been the leader type. She preferred to take care of the simple stuff. Punching. Blasting. Hugging. That was her. But all of these logistics and plans left her feeling useless and lost. If she couldn’t help her people, what was the point of—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door to the room burst open and Bow stumbled in, breathing hard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Scorpia! Did you get my message?” the archer gasped in between heaving breaths. “Are the others here yet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Scorpia asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door opened again, this time admitting Entrapta and a listless Hordak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bow!” Entrapta cried. “What’s happening?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The archer straightened, placing his hands behind his waist and stretching. “I just... got news from Adora,” he panted. “Appar... apparently, someone is reuniting what’s left of the Horde.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scorpia saw Hordak shift where he stood, turning his scarlet gaze onto Bow. Once upon a time, Scorpia would have gone to Hordak for help with her plans. He’d taken her in when the other princesses shunned her, and he had an ambition—a vision and drive—she’d never felt herself. At least, until she’d realized the truth behind her life. Now, she wasn’t sure how to feel about him. This new Hordak seemed like an empty shell, without the same energy or ruthlessness which had earned him an empire, and her loyalty. But now, in the ex-emperor’s eyes, Scorpia saw a glint of something that had been missing for a long time. She looked back at Bow, who folded his arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He calls himself the General,” Bow explained. “Adora and Catra need backup to go after him at his home base in Erelandia. Glimmer is in trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scorpia clenched her claws together and drew herself up, puffing out her chest. “Then we’d better get going.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hordak stepped forward. “I will go with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The others in the room regarded him hesitantly. Beside him, Entrapta reached out for his arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hordak,” she said. “Are you sure? You’re still—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hordak pulled his hand away sharply and clenched his fists. “I am as powerful as I have ever been,” he hissed. “And I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> go with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow narrowed his eyes, but after a moment, he nodded. “Fine. But I’ll be watching you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hordak glared at him, but did not respond.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scorpia rubbed the back of her neck with the flat side of one claw. She didn’t know a lot about tactics, but even she could tell this mission was a recipe for disaster. She took a deep breath, forced a broad smile, and then spoke up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great! Hordak, Bow, and I will take a shuttle to Erelandia.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll stay behind with Emily and finish preparing Darla,” Entrapta added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should take Melog too,” Bow said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Scorpia nodded. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go save our friends.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Episode 4: A New World Horde-er</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Princess Alliance goes toe-to-toe with the General to save their friends.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> She-Ra: In The Wake </span>
</p><p>Episode 4: A New World Horde-er</p><p> </p><p>“HEY SPARKLES.”</p><p>“Uhhnf,” Glimmer groaned, blinking her eyes open.</p><p>Her head felt fuzzy. The last thing she remembered, her father was helping her cast a spell to teleport from Mystacor directly to Erelandia. In a blink, her surroundings morphed from the marble scenery to an outdoor pavilion swarming with... Horde soldiers! Glimmer jerked her head up and immediately winced at the pain she still felt.</p><p>“Glimmer!” Adora’s voice came from somewhere to her right.</p><p>“Adora?” she called in response. “What’s happening?”</p><p>Although her vision was still blurry, Glimmer could make out that she’d been tied to a stake in the center of one of Erelandia’s open marketplaces. To her right were two more figures, similarly bound: Catra directly beside her, and Adora on the other side. Around the edge of the open area stood a crowd of townsfolk, herded to watch the display by the Horde troops.</p><p>“Take it easy,” Catra murmured. “You don’t look so great.”</p><p>“I don’t <em> feel </em> so great,” Glimmer replied. “Those jerks hit hard.”</p><p>“Stay calm!” Adora called to them. “We’ll be—” The blonde princess abruptly stopped talking as a tall figure in decked-out Horde armor emerged from the crowd.</p><p>“People of Erelandia!” the newcomer shouted. “People of the New Horde!”</p><p>“Aye-aye, General!” the soldiers chorused in response.</p><p>“You see before you three of the most notorious women on this planet,” the General declared, launching into their speech. “They came here to destroy what we’ve built, but they could not anticipate the power of our unity!”</p><p>“You gotta hand it to her,” Catra mused as the General continued to speak, “she talks a good talk.”</p><p>“Her?” Glimmer asked.</p><p>Catra nodded. “Yeah, obviously.”</p><p>As the General continued to rile up the troops, three of the officers in the crowd stepped up and leveled blaster rifles at the princesses. The weapons hummed with green energy as they powered up, though Glimmer noted that the one aimed at Catra seemed to crackle and lurch dangerously.</p><p>“Those weapons look damaged and unstable,” Adora said. “They could go off any second.”</p><p>“Not at my face, I hope,” Catra commented.</p><p>Glimmer chewed on her bottom lip, observing the scene and considering her options. In a moment, she’d have enough strength back to teleport out of her bonds—but then what? Adora and Catra were still tied up, and the Horde had a whole townful of innocents trapped.</p><p>“When the skies fell and your princesses abandoned you,” the General cried out, “who remained to protect your lives?! I stood against the invaders, and you stood with me!”</p><p>The troops erupted in approval, and Glimmer detected some murmuring amongst the townsfolk as well. Catra was right—the General knew how to work a crowd.</p><p>“The princesses left us behind!” The General’s arms were flourishing in the air, punctuating their words. “Hordak left us behind!”</p><p>“I LEFT NOTHING.” The interruption echoed through the courtyard, and Glimmer’s skin prickled with goosebumps. Even knowing what she knew now, that voice still sent chills down her spine.</p><p>With a shimmer Glimmer recognized as Melog’s cloaking dropping away, the former emperor appeared. Hordak wore a harsh metal exosuit painted in his signature navy blue. He removed the hood of his maroon cloak and drew himself to his full and terrifying height, standing immediately between the civilian crowd and the General. </p><p>Hordak lifted one clawed hand and clenched it shut. “Who are you, that claims to be equal to me?”</p><p>The General hesitated for barely a moment before retorting. In that moment of silence, Glimmer caught sight of a glint of light on a roof to the left of her field of vision.</p><p>“I have no name,” they said. “I have no face. I have no voice. I am the Horde Incarnate.”</p><p>“Is that so?” Hordak stalked slowly forward. To their credit, the General stood their ground.</p><p>“You created me,” the General declared. “Created us. And now we take our existence into our own hands.”</p><p>“I did not <em> create </em> you,” Hordak hissed. “You are a charlatan, scrounging for scraps in the rubble I left in my wake. Because you are too weak to make power for yourself, you clothe yourself in the shadow of <em> my </em> achievements. And still, they ring hollow. Just like your empty skull.” The two Horde leaders were now face-to-face. Hordak stood just a couple of inches taller, and he reached out one clawed hand to grip the General’s helmet.</p><p>Glimmer’s gaze returned to the roof, and she now made out the familiar figure crouching there, arrow at the ready.</p><p>“Bow.” Tears of relief welled up in her eyes.</p><p>“About time,” Catra muttered. “Get ready; we’ll have to—”</p><p>Then, everything went wrong.</p><p>Bow loosed his arrow, which landed in the center of the open area, not two feet to the General’s left. The arrowhead beeped, splitting open to reveal a glowing energy core. Then, a shockwave of blue energy exploded from the device. As it hit the Horde soldiers’ weapons, they fizzled and melted into useless hunks of metal. As soon as her guard’s tools went offline, Glimmer teleported out of her bonds and socked the soldier with a fistful of sparkling energy. As she did so, the EMP hit the weapon aimed at Catra, which—instead of being disabled like the rest—exploded, sending both the soldier holding it <em> and </em> the cat girl skidding across the stone.</p><p>“CATRA!” Adora howled. “FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!”</p><p>The blonde princess exploded from her bonds as she transformed into She-Ra. Glimmer fell back and began casting spells at the Horde soldiers, dragging them away from the civilians and securing them with glowing chains. The crowd scattered in a panic, pouring away into side streets and alleyways. Out of the corner of her eye, Glimmer saw the General’s knee connect with Hordak’s gut, doubling the ex-emperor over. The armored warrior set about pummeling his former leader. Hordak crumpled under the assault, flinching away as the General raised a fist to deliver the final blow—but a blast of red-and-black lightning impacted the General and launched him backwards into one of the market stalls before he could strike. Scorpia stepped up and offered a claw to Hordak, who growled and pushed it away.</p><p>Glimmer ran forward to meet Bow as the archer rappelled down a zipline arrow from the roof. As soon as his boots hit the stone, the princess tackled him, squeezing as tight as she could. Bow groaned under the impact.</p><p>“You’re here,” Glimmer gasped, breathlessly.</p><p>Bow returned the hug. “Of course.”</p><p>The duo looked back at the battle to see that most of the Horde troops in the square were either unconscious or chained up. She-Ra strode out of the smoke, carrying a limp Catra in her arms, bridal-style. Glimmer ran to meet her.</p><p>“Is she...?”</p><p>“She’s fine,” She-Ra said, face drawn and pale. “She’ll be okay.”</p><p>Glimmer let out a tense breath. “Where is the General?”</p><p>“He’s not here!” Scorpia called, knee-deep in the rubble where the enemy leader had landed.</p><p>“The General is long gone,” Bow said, joining the others.</p><p>“Grrrahh!” Hordak let loose a furious yell, hurling a chunk of brick across the stone. He stood, shoulders hunched and breathing heavily.</p><p>“Forget him,” She-Ra directed. “Go make sure the rest of his soldiers are captured. We’re putting a stop to the New Horde, here and now.”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>An hour later, Glimmer and the others were huddled in the middle of the New Horde’s campsite, sharing hot mugs and tending to their wounds. She winced as Bow finished wrapping her head in gauze to protect her head injury and looked over at Catra next to her. The cat girl was still cradled in She-Ra’s muscular arms, but she’d woken up and eaten some food.</p><p>“Unghh,” Catra moaned, shrinking into a ball.</p><p>Glimmer raised an eyebrow. She was almost totally sure the dark-haired girl’s wounds were nowhere near as bad as she made them out to be. Catra’s gaze met hers, and the glint in her mismatched eyes confirmed Glimmer’s suspicions. Catra was <em> definitely </em> hamming it up for her lover’s attention.</p><p>Well, Glimmer thought to herself, why should she be the only one? She made a point of wincing as Bow finished dressing her wound, and the archer responded by gently embracing her and kissing her forehead. Glimmer had to suppress a smirk.</p><p>“We must pursue,” Hordak declared from the other side of the campfire.</p><p>“I don’t think we’re in any shape for another battle,” Bow replied. “As it is, we’ll have to pull an all-nighter guarding the rest of the troops until the Bright Moon army arrives to take over.”</p><p>Hordak growled, hunching over and staring into the blaze.</p><p>Glimmer leaned back into Bow. “What do we do once they get here?”</p><p>“We can’t stay just to track down one person,” She-Ra stated. “We’re already a day behind schedule, and I don’t want to lose any more time. Tomorrow, we’re getting in Mara’s shuttle and leaving.”</p><p>“We’ll find her for you,” Scorpia piped up. She was seated beside Hordak, scratching at Melog’s head with one claw. “I’ll get Sea Hawk to lead a team! He can take Emily and Double Trouble.”</p><p>“That’s an... interesting choice, Scorpia,” Glimmer replied. “But you’re right. You guys can handle the General.”</p><p>As the evening wore on, the friends took turns guarding the prisoners and resting by the fire. During one of her breaks, Glimmer was joined by Scorpia. As the shelled princess sat on the other side of the log, it nearly tipped, and Glimmer had to quickly regain her balance.</p><p>“Oh! Sorry, sorry,” Scorpia exclaimed, standing back up. “Uh, I’ll just—I’ll just sit down right here.” She sat down on the ground next to the log, and Glimmer smiled at her weakly.</p><p>“How have you been?” Glimmer asked, poking at the glowing coals with a stick.</p><p>Scorpia shrugged. “Being a princess is a lot harder than it used to be. I have a lot of people to take care of now, and I’m not so sure I’m good at it. Plus, I hardly ever get to see Perfuma now that we’re both in our own kingdoms, and there’s that whole thing about dismantling the Fright Zone, so...”</p><p>Glimmer scooted over and placed a hand on the bigger woman’s shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing a great job.”</p><p>Scorpia looked up at Glimmer, eyes wide. “You really do?”</p><p>“Definitely,” Glimmer nodded. She shifted off of the log and sat on the ground next to Scorpia. “When my mom... when I was crowned queen, I had no clue what I was doing. I still don’t, honestly.”</p><p>“Really?” Scorpia asked, incredulous. “But you’re always so determined. I mean, you’re—you’re <em> Glimmer </em>. You always know what to do!”</p><p>Glimmer laughed. “Is that what they think?”</p><p>Scorpia nodded.</p><p>“Well, here’s a secret,” Glimmer said, looking up at her fellow princess. “I don’t know what I’m doing any more than you do.”</p><p>“Then, how do you know what the right choices are?” Scorpia asked.</p><p>Glimmer looked up at the stars twinkling above. She still wasn’t used to seeing them up there, keeping Etheria company. “I trust my heart,” she said. “And I trust my friends, to keep me on the right path.”</p><p>“Okay,” Scorpia said. “Trust my friends. I can do that.” She sat up straighter and smiled. “I’m <em> awesome </em> at that.”</p><p>“Yes, you are,” Glimmer grinned.</p><p>In the black night sky above, a single blue streak of light split the dark canvas. To the two princesses on the planet below, it looked like a comet. It was not.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Episode 5: What You Learn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which a new adventure begins.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Episode 5: What You Learn</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>ENTRAPTA GAVE THE WRENCH ONE FINAL TUG.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Satisfied that the bolt had been tightened all the way, she handed the tool off to a lock of her hair and dusted off her hands. Currently, she crouched atop one of the control panels that ringed the outside of Darla’s cockpit. Beside her, Emily blipped brightly. She reached out and rubbed the top of the spherical robot while her tresses held her voice recorder up to her mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Starship Mission Log, day thirty-nine,” Entrapta declared. “Darla is fully outfitted and ready for liftoff.” She hopped down off of the console and looked around the bridge. “I have incorporated enhanced maneuvering capabilities, phaser weapons based on the Black Garnet’s energy-blasting magic, and a cloaking device derived from Melog’s unique biology! All of them work perfectly... most of the time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emily hummed, moving over to the central, high-backed command chair. Entrapta had also added four extra chairs to the bridge—two at the front of the room, by the consoles below the viewport, and two on either side of the command chair. She’d remodeled the rest of the ship to be able to fit up to ten people (if the occupants shared their quarters).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Current flight plan is to leave Etheria’s atmosphere in the late afternoon and set a course for Setna, where we will rendezvous with our contacts in the wider galaxy!” the purple-haired princess continued, exiting the bridge and heading for the cargo room. “We continue to rely on Horde Prime’s interstellar communications network for sending and receiving space transmissions, but I hope to improve on his design during the two-day journey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Entrapta reached the hold, she pressed a large red button on the wall, causing the cargo ramp to slowly lower. She returned the recorder to her belt and lifted herself on her hair, which carried her down the incline and out into the hangar bay. The telltale clanging behind her signalled that Emily was in close pursuit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she emerged from the starship, she heard the telltale sound of Glimmer’s teleportation, followed by a warbling meow and a hoarse cry. The rescue team stood in the middle of the open space, looking ragged. Most of them had bags under their eyes, and Catra was currently flat on the floor, trying to fend off Melog’s affections. Glimmer, looking about ready to collapse on the spot, was holding on to Scorpia. Bow and Adora were leaning on one another, and as Entrapta approached they shared an impressive yawn. Behind them stood a familiar fanged figure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hordak!” Entrapta called. “Welcome...” she hesitated as he turned away and stalked out of the room. “...back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi Entrapta!” Scorpia beamed at her. “We got the others out safe, and the New Horde is under control.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta took in the others, who all seemed to be on the verge of fainting. “Oh no, that’s not good. You all need some sleep. We have to leave soon!” Then, she paused. “I mean... yay! You stopped the Horde.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s right,” Bow said. “Everyone take the rest of the morning and rest. We’ll meet back here for liftoff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the others split off and filed out of the hangar, Scorpia and Entrapta hung back. Bow and Glimmer left first, the pink-haired princess leaning on the archer’s arm. Catra freed herself from Melog’s grasp and clambered up onto Adora’s back. The taller girl grunted, but then lifted her piggyback-style and duck-walked out of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Scorpia put a claw on Entrapta’s shoulder. “Go find him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta looked up at her friend, eyes wide. Then, she smiled at her and headed for the hallway. Emily nuzzled against the clawed princess and whirred. Scorpia petted her, watching Entrapta go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The geek princess knew the route to Hordak’s quarters by heart now. She padded through the maze of twists and turns until she arrived at the metal hatch she sought. After a moment of hesitation, she knocked loudly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hordak?” She knocked again. “Hordak, are you in there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When no response came, she pulled out a multitool and quickly undid the lock. The door hissed open, and she looked into the room to see the former emperor seated on his cot, facing away from her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The clone said nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta walked forward and sat on the other side of the cot, back-to-back with him. Hordak still did not speak—but he did lean back against her, just a little. One of the princess’s purple locks curled up and brushed against his cheek, and Hordak took a deep, heavy breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have lost,” he murmured at last. “Everything I built has been torn away. Ruined. I faced that usurper in battle and could not even hold my ground. I am a shell.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pair sat in silence for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Most of my experiments explode,” Entrapta admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hordak sat up straighter. “...What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They blow up in my face,” the geek princess continued. “Or they do nothing, or they turn evil and try to kill me. One time, I tried to make a machine that would freeze ice cream by converting the heat energy of water into molecules of artificial flavor! When I built the prototype and turned it on, it destroyed my whole castle, and all of my other inventions. I... I fail a lot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hordak looked down at his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Science isn’t about what you build,” Entrapta said softly. “It’s about what you learn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The clone shifted slightly, placing his back against the wall so that he could look over at the woman. “Entrapta...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta pulled her legs up onto the cot and cuddled up against him. Hordak sat frozen, red eyes wide. After a moment, he released a deep breath and ever so slightly put his arm around her side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora stepped into the hangar bay wearing her new and improved spacesuit, with her helmet tucked under one arm. Beside her, Catra held up her own helmet and inspected it with a scowl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She could have at least gotten rid of the dumb ears,” the dark-haired girl muttered. “Not intimidating at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Space tech works for you,” Adora replied as the pair walked up to join their friends beneath Darla’s cargo ramp. Catra rolled her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta poked her head out of the ship. “You’re all in your uniforms. Perfect! Get in here and we’ll start the liftoff sequence.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bow was in the middle of a quiet exchange with his dads, and behind him, Scorpia and Glimmer finished their goodbyes with a hug. Adora glanced at the feline girl beside her, and Catra shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Must be weird,” Catra said, “having people to to say g—” She was abruptly cut off by a muscular, short-haired scorpion woman snatching her up into a crushing hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna miss you guys so much,” Scorpia gushed as her friend desperately tried to wiggle out of her grip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Scorpia,” Catra wheezed. “Let go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora laughed at the scene, but her attentions were turned elsewhere as Lance and George stepped up to her and pulled her and Glimmer into a tight embrace as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re so proud of you all,” George said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go bring Etherian magic to the stars,” Lance added. “And bring us back some books from out there! Who </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows</span>
  </em>
  <span> how many alien cultures and civilizations are just waiting to be explored and understood.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will,” Adora replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you so much for everything,” Glimmer said. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of Bow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dark-haired archer stepped up between the two girls and put his arms around their necks. He grinned widely at his fathers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, we know,” George chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra, finally free of Scorpia’s crushing grip, walked past the trio and headed up the ramp with Melog in tow. As she passed Adora, the two briefly clasped hands and shared a soft look. Then, the feline girl disappeared into the shuttle, leaving just the original three still waiting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess this is it,” Glimmer said. “A new adventure begins.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so proud to be questing with you guys,” Bow declared. “Best Friends Squad forever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora looked over at her two closest friends, on this planet or any other. “Let’s go save the universe, guys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still in a tight huddle, the trio ascended the ramp, which closed behind them. As they entered the bridge, Adora took in the scene before her. Glimmer and Bow split off to sit in the two chairs on either side of the central one. Down at the left console, Entrapta punched in numbers and information while chattering excitedly to the ship’s AI. Next to her, Hordak stood quietly and watched her work. Every so often, he pointed out something in her calculations and she beamed up at him before adding it in. Melog sat, curled up, in the far right corner beside the cockpit entrance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora circled around to the tall command chair and looked down to see a familiar figure lounging there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Catra,” Adora warned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay,” the cat girl smirked and vacated the seat, electing to sit on the step below, her tail brushing against Adora’s legs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde princess sat down in the command chair and looked up at the wide viewport. Outside, the hangar bay doors creaked and groaned as they slowly pulled aside, revealing the Etherian evening sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All systems operational,” Darla informed the crew. “Pre-launch sequence complete.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chart a course for Planet Setna,” Adora instructed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Course ready,” Darla chimed. “Liftoff in ten... nine...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora took in a deep breath as Hordak and Entrapta buckled themselves into the console chairs below her. Catra looped an arm around the blonde’s right leg, and Glimmer and Bow shared tense smiles in front of her. Melog slid across the deck to Catra’s side and enveloped her, serving as her substitute seat belt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Five... four...” Darla continued. “Three... two... one. Launch sequence engaged.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The starship rumbled, lifting off from the ground and gliding out of the Horde base into the open air. Then, Darla adjusted her angle and rocketed upwards, out into space.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tallstar pulled her hood lower over her face and huddled further back into the booth. At the other end of the diner, the black-clad warriors gathered at the bar were growing rowdier and rowdier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘S just, Horde Prime blasts all over the galaxy terrifyin’ us all, an’ then what?” a heavyset thug with mottled blue-grey skin and twin antennae exclaimed. “He gets destroyed by a planet full o’ <em>princesses</em>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t believe it either,” squawked a pale, skeletal creature a few seats down. “Musta been someone else, like the Eaters.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others hissed at him, shushing frantically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What in stars is wrong with you?!” the blue thug growled. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> to call those monsters down on us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” the skeleton croaked. “Mistake. Was a mistake.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His apology came too late. Two of the others grabbed him by his spindly arms and dragged him out through the diner’s side door as he wailed and thrashed. Once the sound faded, there was a moment of tense silence, before the banter kicked up again as if nothing had happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the waitstaff stepped up to Tallstar’s table and set down a mug of steaming brown liquid in front of her. She nodded gratefully, pulling it to her and blowing on it to cool it down. As she nursed the beverage, she continued to eavesdrop on her surroundings. Most of the other occupants of the building had gone quiet after the bruisers entered, and they continued to make a distracting amount of noise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tallstar’s mouth tightened at the non-stop shouting and guffaws. It was quickly becoming clear that she wouldn’t be getting any more information out of this joint. Downing the last of her drink, she placed a couple of chips on the table as payment and headed for the exit. As she pushed open the door, she heard the antennaed thug declare in a booming voice:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All I’m sayin’ is, if them princesses are comin’ to Setna they better watch their backs. Leech don’t take too kind to newcomers on his turf.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Episode 6: Scars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which old misdeeds come back to bite.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Episode 6: Scars</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>BOW HAD KNOWN FOR YEARS THAT HE WOKE UP EARLIER THAN GLIMMER.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t until they began to share the same bed that it became a concern. But he’d been getting better at slipping out without rousing her, and today was no exception. He carefully wiggled out of her arms and rolled off the side of the mattress—which was thankfully embedded in the floor, minimizing the drop. Then, the archer snagged his boots and tiptoed to the door. He winced at the hiss of the hydraulics opening, but the pink-haired princess simply kicked out a leg and mumbled something about moonstones.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Bow slipped out of their quarters, he scanned the hallway. Telling time in space got difficult, since the outdoors were dark all day. Noticing that most of the other rooms still had closed doors, he turned and headed for the bridge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Halfway there, he paused near an alcove as he spotted a long, furry tail coil in and out of sight. Slowly, Bow approached the little nook and found a messy-haired cat girl tucked inside, gazing out the porthole. He noticed that Catra’s ears lay flat against her head, arms around her knees. After a moment of consideration, he moved to silently continue on, but he was stopped by the girl’s voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t like space,” Catra rasped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow turned back to her, his eyes sympathetic. “You didn’t have to come with us, you know. If it makes you worry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra shot him a flat look over her shoulder. Bow shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t worry about myself,” the dark-haired girl replied, leaning back against the wall. “I worry about her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow sat down against the opposite wall. He didn’t need to ask who they were talking about. “Adora can take care of herself. She’s freaking She-Ra!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adora is an idiot. She would carry a bomb in her arms if someone told her it needed saving,” Catra exclaimed. “You all think She-Ra can lift every weight, but one day she’s gonna carry too much! And she won’t know it until she’s already underneath.” Her mismatched eyes locked on Bow’s. “I’m going to be there to pull her out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re up at 6:00 AM, staring out into space—which you hate—because you’re worried about Adora?” Bow asked, leaning forward.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah! ... I mean, I don’t...” the cat girl hunched her shoulders. “I don’t sleep well, lately.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow looked down. Nightmares. He knew how awful they could be. “Horde Prime hurt us all,” he said softly. “But he’s gone now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This isn’t about Horde Prime,” Catra snapped. “You’re so dumb.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then what—?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s about me!” the girl hissed, pupils narrowed. “I want to save Adora, but only because I’m selfish. I need her. I’m not a </span>
  <em>
    <span>hero</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’m not your </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I hunted you across the world. I—I </span>
  <em>
    <span>killed</span>
  </em>
  <span> Glimmer’s mom.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That wasn’t you,” Bow interjected. “That was—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The portal,” Catra said. “Which </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> opened. Horde Prime didn’t make me do that! I chose every awful thing I ever did. I pulled that lever and I would have doomed us all and I sent Entrapta to die and Adora has scars on her back when I touch her because I PUT THEM THERE!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow flinched back at the feline girl’s outburst. Catra’s eyes were wild, her hair hanging in thin strands over her sweaty face. Tears pooled in her eyes, welling over until they ran down her cheeks. Her clawed hands grasped at her shirt, gripping bunches of fabric with a grip so tight, Bow worried she’d hurt herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slowly, cautiously, he scooted forward, reaching his arms out for her. Catra shrank back, but he continued, undeterred, pulling her into a gentle embrace. She sat there, limp, shoulders trembling as she continued to sob.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve had so much pain,” Bow said. “We know that. We forgive you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t,” Catra hissed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, too bad!” the archer replied forcefully. Catra pulled back, yellow-and-blue eyes wide. “You don’t get to choose what we think about you, Catra. We know what you did. All of us. And we don’t forget it. We </span>
  <em>
    <span>forgive</span>
  </em>
  <span> you, for everything. So deal with it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow got to his feet and stalked away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Adora got to the bridge, the others were already there, gathered at the viewport and gazing down at the planet below.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now approaching: Planet Setna Stardock, New Glass City,” Darla said evenly. “Setna is the primary trade center for Quadrant One-One-Eight. Native sentient species: none. Economic output...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora tuned out the AI’s parade of information, taking a seat in her command chair as they glided down through the atmosphere and lined up with the other docking ships. Catra stepped up behind her, and Adora gave her a smile. The dark-haired girl didn’t return the expression, but she did reach down to entwine their fingers together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tallstar said they would meet us at the dock,” Bow said, joining them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An odd look passed between him and Catra, and Adora’s brow furrowed with concern for a moment. Then, she shook her head. She’d ask them about it later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” she said instead. “Let’s get down there and find them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully, Darla seemed capable of handling most of the communication with the ground crew. The AI secured them a landing site and guided the ship into place, so that the mechanical arms could lock on and take them the rest of the way. At last, the ship stopped moving and Darla announced that they were now able to exit the vehicle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Adora led the others down the cargo ramp and out into the port, her eyes grew large. The Setna Stardock was a massive hangar, filled with creatures of all shapes and sizes boarding and disembarking. The Etherians huddled together in a nervous clump, eyes scanning the colorful hub into which they’d emerged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“HEY!” came a yell, piercing the din. “PRINCESS! OVER HERE!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora’s gaze flicked to the source of the sound, and she smiled when she saw Starla on tiptoe, waving frantically at them. As Darla closed and locked behind them, the crew headed for the young girl. As they got closer, Adora recognized Tallstar standing arms-folded behind her younger sister.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” the blonde warrior said. “Man, am I glad to see you guys.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Glimmer and Starla shared a hug, Tallstar stepped forward, eyes scanning the crowd around them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should get moving,” the eldest Star said. “It’s not safe to talk out here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog warbled, cocking its head, and Catra rubbed it absentmindedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess that means things haven’t been great around here,” Glimmer said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tallstar nodded grimly. “Setna is a dangerous place even when times are good. Since the Horde fell, New Glass has been even more unstable than usual.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re saying you brought us to a planet where we’d be in trouble from the moment we landed?” Catra cried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were in trouble the moment Etheria reappeared in the quadrant,” Tallstar retorted. “My contacts here will tell us what to worry about. If you want to know what’s happening in the galaxy, Setna is the place to be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tallstar,” Starla interrupted. “I still don’t see him anywhere.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s happening?” Bow asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tallstar’s mouth tightened. “Jewelstar left this morning to get supplies. He was supposed to meet us here, but we haven’t heard from him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, fantastic,” Catra snarked. “You losers run a tight ship, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want a fist to the mouth?” Tallstar threatened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay,” Adora stepped between the two. “We’re all on the same side, here. Let’s get to somewhere more private, and then we can figure out our next move.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In that case,” Starla said, “you should go stop your engineer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Our...?” Adora turned around to see that Entrapta had remained with the ship and was scaring off all Stardock personnel who tried to get close. Hordak stood behind her, looking more than a little lost for what to do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If anyone comes near my ship,” Entrapta declared loudly, “I will lock you in a vault with the nastiest cleaning robots this planet has ever seen!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ughhh, I’ll get her,” Glimmer groaned, stalking off to retrieve the duo.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The goons dragged their cloaked prisoner into the musty room and threw him down onto the wet stone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I told you,” the man said, gingerly pushing himself up from the floor, “there’s no need to throw me around. I won’t resist.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His face, still shaded by the hood, took in the area around him. From a doorway on the opposite side of the room, a hulking silhouette emerged. The newcomer towered over the other occupants of the chamber, and the sickly yellow light from the floor grates cast sharp and twisted shadows on his scaly exterior. As he leaned forward into the glow, it became clear that his head was a long green muzzle, with needle-like teeth protruding between his lips. Twin red eyes flashed as the wide reptilian features curled into a grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I must say,” the scaly creature commented in a deep, smooth voice, “I did not expect to see you return to this planet. You must be more foolish than I thought.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hoped our business was over the last time we met, Leech,” the prisoner replied. “The bounty hunters who tried to turn us in when we landed told me I was wrong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The reptile made a loud slurping noise with his tongue. “You still owe me a life debt. And if you do not pay, I shall </span>
  <em>
    <span>take</span>
  </em>
  <span> what I am owed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then take it,” the captive replied. “I’m right here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Jewelstar,” Leech tsked. He leaned down and reached out to lift the young man’s chin. The crime boss’s fingers were webbed, and the scales stuck to Jewelstar’s face before Leech peeled them off again. “I have a better idea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leech stood up and gestured with a finger to one of his bruisers. The alien scurried to his side and handed him a small flat device, which Leech held out in his webbed palm. The machine beeped, and then projected an image of the other two Star siblings meeting with Adora and her crew at the space dock.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My eyes and ears tell me you are in contact with a group of Etherians, traveling with a Horde clone and an especially rare creature,” Leech gurgled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jewelstar’s eyes widened, but he did not reply. Leech pressed a button on the device, which zoomed in on Melog, pressed to Catra’s leg.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You will bring me the Krytian,” the reptile said. “And I will allow you and your sisters to go free. Otherwise, I will take your family as collateral. This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a request.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The young man lowered his head, staring at the puddle of murky groundwater at his knees.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Leech.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Episode 7: Empty-Handed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Catra's troubles escalate amid an ambush and a betrayal.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Episode 7: Empty-Handed</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>AS SOON AS TALLSTAR OPENED THE DOOR, CATRA KNEW THIS PLACE WOULDN’T WORK.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The lodgings were essentially a single, mid-size room with a lonely bathroom attached. The feline girl realized with growing discontent that they would have to sleep in bedrolls on the cold tile floor. That part didn’t bother her so much—the Horde bunks were little more than bricks anyway. No, the part that ticked her off was the complete lack of privacy for herself and Adora.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not much,” Adora commented, stepping in behind her. “But we can make it work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While the others shuffled in, Adora and Tallstar stepped aside to converse about Jewelstar. Rather than bothering with all that, Catra turned away and found herself face-to-face with Bow. Ears flattening against her head, Catra looked away from him and sidled over to the window, where Melog joined her with a curious trill.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra looked down at the alien. “What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog replied with a distorted meow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Catra exclaimed. Then, remembering where she was, she looked up to see the others giving her curious looks. “Not... a... lizard,” she stammered. “Clearly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once all the attention had left her once more, Catra glared at Melog, who simply flicked an ear. With a groan, the dark-haired girl turned away to look out at the street below—just in time to catch someone heading for the building.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, is </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> the guy you were looking for?” Catra asked, pointing down at the approaching man amongst the crowd.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Starla rushed to the window, elbowing the cat girl aside. “Yes!” she cried, ignoring Catra’s annoyed expression. “Tallstar, he’s back!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, thank the stars,” Tallstar breathed. Then, her voice became stern. “I am going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill</span>
  </em>
  <span> him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the Star sisters went to greet their brother, Catra headed for the farthest corner of the room, hoping to curl up and avoid catching anyone’s attention for the next few hours. Halfway across the room, a hand on her arm slowed her. She turned to find herself inches from Adora.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” the blonde’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “What’s going on with you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra caught Bow watching them out of the corner of her eye. She shrugged. “Nothing. I’m fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Catra,” Adora pleaded. “Don’t shut me out, please.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cat girl met her love’s eyes and saw the pain there; the fear of being pushed aside again. She opened her mouth to speak, but then the door opened again, admitting the full complement of the Star siblings.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora glanced back at her, face still lined with worry, but Catra gave her a wan smile. “Later,” she murmured. “Okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a moment, the blonde nodded. She turned away to go speak to the new arrival, and Catra stepped back, bumping against Melog as the alien pressed up against her legs, trying to push her toward the other girl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not now,” she whispered sharply to the catlike creature. “She’s busy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog made a sound that almost sounded like a scoff. Catra’s fur bristled and her face reddened at the telepathically-delivered meaning behind it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everyone, listen up!” Adora called. The remainder of the crew slowly gathered in front of her and Tallstar. “Jewelstar took the time to scout out some of his friends in the city, and he says we can meet with them this evening.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There are three I managed to find,” Jewelstar interjected, “If you want to cover all of them, you should split into teams. I can stay here and keep an eye on your cat while you’re gone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” Catra stared at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I... meant the Krytian,” Jewelstar said, indicating Melog.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” The feline girl looked away. “I knew that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No need for that,” Adora said. “Melog can come with us. It’s good at keeping out of sight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Besides,” Entrapta added, “The entity has thoroughly bonded to Catra! Separating the two was extremely difficult before.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow nodded, eyes wide. Clearly, he remembered the ordeal they went through to persuade Melog to join them in the Fright Zone rather than joining Catra and Adora on their...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see,” Jewelstar mused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jewelstar is right, though,” Glimmer said. “We should split into teams and meet with these people as fast as we can. The sooner that’s done, the sooner we can leave the planet and keep moving.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I also have a contact I’d like to meet up with,” Tallstar added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So that’s one team of three, and three teams of two,” Bow said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll go with Glimmer and Bow!” Starla exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hordak and I are together!” Entrapta declared, grabbing onto the clone, who blinked in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hoped we could find time to talk,” Tallstar said, looking over at Adora. “Would you mind joining me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora looked over at Catra, who pressed her hands together. She took in a breath, then forced a casual smile. “Sure. Don’t worry about me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess that means we’re together,” Jewelstar said, regarding the cat girl with his mechanical eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra shrugged. “I guess so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not long after, the teams were prepared to split off. The sun had nearly set on New Glass City, and Catra hung back as the rest grouped up and ventured out of the building into the evening. Adora stepped over to her and took her hands before leaving.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She leaned in, and Catra returned her kiss—though with somewhat less energy than usual. “I’ll see you before long,” Adora said. “I love you, Catra.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah,” Catra smirked. “Go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora squeezed her hands, and then she and Tallstar ducked out into the open air and disappeared into the dusk. Melog trilled quietly between Catra and Jewelstar.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” Catra said. “Where to now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” the Star brother murmured. “Follow me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Melog found the walk endlessly fascinating. This planet had so much life, so much feeling and emotion. All she had sensed back home was silence, for nearly as long as she could remember. Back when the destroyers had come, they had brought such strangeness with them. Moving stones which Melog now knew as machines, and desires she had spent so long trying to understand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked up at her partner, the grumpy Etherian with the tail. Why did she act this way, when everything she felt pushed her in the opposite direction? Melog found her utterly bewildering.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog turned her gaze to the man walking with them. He carried pain, and much of the same thick, tar-like feeling which clung to Catra. Guilt. Melog cocked her head, and then rubbed her body against the man’s ankles as they walked. She’d hoped the gesture would cheer him up, but instead he seemed to grow even more dejected. Melog hummed, padding back to her partner’s side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is a nice area,” Catra said, in that tone of voice which meant the truth was the opposite of her words.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“On planets like this,” the man replied, “most people on the fringes take what they can. The galaxy is a test of survival.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Doesn’t have to be,” the cat girl offered. “There are people who care.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man gave her a look Melog couldn’t decipher, and then Catra made a retching noise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, I sound like a princess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You Etherians are strange ones,” the Star brother commented.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As they weaved further and further away from the busier main thoroughfares, Melog began to sense a change around her. The air felt tighter, and her fur seemed to twitch, unbidden. It took her a moment to identify where the feeling came from: the Star man was becoming increasingly tense and anxious as they progressed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog commented on this aloud with a mew, and her partner rested a hand on her back in response. The Krytian relaxed under Catra’s touch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, gem-guy,” Catra called out. Jewelstar looked up sharply, startled from his thoughts. “Everything okay? You look pretty rough.” The feline girl’s words were friendly, but her eyes were narrow, and Melog could feel the hot, itchy suspicion she exuded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” the man replied. “Come on, we’re not far now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra stopped walking. “Sorry. I’m going back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jewelstar turned and stared at the two cats. Melog suddenly became aware of other presences—pockets of emotion which had been dull but now crept closer, their tugging greed and prickly hostility dragging against her senses. She warbled a warning to Catra, whose claws slowly emerged on the ends of her fingers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good try, boy,” came a low, glossy voice from the darkness behind Jewelstar. A tall, reptilian creature in dull black armor stepped up behind the man, placing a thick, webbed hand on his shoulder. The creature’s olive-green muzzle twitched, splitting to reveal a toothy grin. “You’ve got us far enough. We can do the rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra crouched and raised her claws as three more henchmen emerged around them, closing them in. “You traitor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a roar, the largest of the goons barreled toward the cat girl. Catra’s tail lashed out to balance her, and she leapt into the air, slashing across his face with a clawed foot and kicking off of his chest to land on top of one of the other bruisers, who had been trying to sneak up behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog darted forward to help, but the third goon blocked her path, striking down at her with a large metal bar. Melog hissed, feeling her mane morph into sharp red spines as she dodged to one side, out of the way of the blow. She backed away as the bruiser advanced toward her. As she reached the alley wall, she allowed herself to vanish from the visible spectrum.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bruiser’s eyes widened, and he looked left and right, trying to spot her. Melog changed her shape into a long, slithering tendril, slipping out through the man’s legs. She moved to Catra’s side as her partner fell back, away from the two fighters that faced her down. Melog enveloped the feline girl, hiding them both from view.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Catra whispered, tiptoeing backward, the way they had come—and bumping directly into Jewelstar. Catra, with Melog still merged with her, spun around to look at him. The Star brother’s cyborg eye whirred, locking on to their position.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Leech,” he pointed. “They’re there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From behind them, the lizard and its men advanced. Catra hissed, and Melog felt her pull away, reappearing as she emerged from the Krytian’s embrace. The alien felt her partner’s mind through their bond—fury, focus, fear. Catra pleaded through their telepathic link for her to run. Run and find the one she loved. The She-Ra.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog growled, hackles raised. She backed away into the shadow—but she could not leave her partner. She would protect. The Etherian spun on the spot and lashed out a foot, striking Jewelstar directly in the face and smashing his eye. He stumbled back, crying out and clasping his hands to the sparking machinery.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Go!</span>
  </em>
  <span> her mind shouted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The reptile—Leech—snatched Catra’s arm with whiplike speed. He lifted her up into the air, and Melog shrank back—even though she knew he couldn’t see her. Then, Catra wailed. Her body seemed to shrivel in Leech’s grasp, and the creature shrank, growing leaner and slimmer. A long, scaly tail unraveled behind him, grown on the spot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog cowered as she felt Catra fade into unconsciousness. She could not stop this creature. She could not save her partner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But She-Ra could.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Krytian turned on the spot and ran, bounding invisibly through the darkened streets. She had to find the blonde woman, the warrior whom Catra trusted so completely. Melog raced away, running as far as she could so that the Leech would not be able to find her. To see her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It did not take long for her to become thoroughly lost in the dark streets.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Episode 8: The Doctor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Adora learns of new threats to Etheria, and Catra must turn to an unlikely source of guidance.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Episode 8: The Doctor</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I HOPE YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU HAVE CAUSED ME,” LEECH SAID SOFTLY.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra laid back on the stone floor of her cell, staring up into the air and enjoying the infighting between her captors. Jewelstar knelt on the ground before the crime boss’s pacing form. Since siphoning the feline girl’s energy, Leech’s body had gradually changed, taking on traits which Catra recognized as a twisted reflection of her own. First, he’d grown a long, sinuous tail for balance. Then, over the next hour or so, his frame had become slimmer and more agile—though he’d kept his relative size, so that he still towered over the Star brother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, poor guy,” Catra teased, her voice carrying through the crackling green energy barrier that held her captive. “Sorry your kidnapping went wrong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leech stalked up to her cage, pacing around the outside and glaring in at her. Catra lay on a hexagonal platform, with each side of the shape projecting a green force field up into the ceiling. The energy shields were identical to the kind they used in the Fright Zone. In fact, Catra suspected the reptile had stolen the technology from the Galactic Horde.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are proving to be more of a nuisance than an asset,” Leech mused. “Perhaps I should drink you dry now and be done with this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra’s squeaky laugh rang through the harsh underground chamber, echoing off of the metal pipes protruding from the walls. “I used to fight scarier people than you every day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can still use her,” Jewelstar said. “She and the Krytian are bonded. It will come back to find her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra’s eyes narrowed and she sat up. Her muscles still ached when she moved, but if she wasn’t stuck in here, she would take that traitor and bond her </span>
  <em>
    <span>claws</span>
  </em>
  <span> to someplace </span>
  <em>
    <span>painful</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this true?” Leech asked her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra spat at him. The glob of saliva hit the energy barrier and sizzled into steam. Leech seemed to take this as confirmation, because he turned to Jewelstar, leaned down and whispered something in his ear that Catra, even with her enhanced hearing, couldn’t make out. Then, he turned and disappeared through a tunnel-like doorway in the far wall of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a moment, Jewelstar stood and reached up to touch his damaged eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you happy?” Catra called. “Traitor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Star brother did not respond.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra snarled at him. “You stabbed us in the back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I did it to save my family,” Jewelstar replied. “How about you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he left the room, Catra stared at the green force fields holding her in. Nobody would be coming to get her, and even if she deserved this, she refused to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>bait</span>
  </em>
  <span> for someone who didn’t. Unfortunately for Leech, his theft of Horde technology would work against him. Catra had seen someone break out of a prison cell like this before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, Shadow Weaver,” she muttered. “Time for one last lesson.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Be patient with him when we get there,” Tallstar said as she led Adora down the sparsely-lit sidewalk of New Glass’s market street. “Galen can be... a lot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora nodded, taking in the blinking neon signs that lined the chrome buildings to their right. The entire city seemed so much busier and denser than anything she’d seen on Etheria. The closest match back home had been the Fright Zone, but there were no civilians there, only Horde soldiers. New Glass was nothing </span>
  <em>
    <span>but</span>
  </em>
  <span> civilians. People in shimmering jumpsuits and thick dusters flowed around sinuous, many-legged aliens and tall, flat-faced strangers with translucent skin. Many bore cybernetic prosthetics, or carried devices the princess had never seen before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This place is so big,” she murmured. “I can’t believe we never knew all this was out here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nobody knew you all were gone,” Tallstar replied, taking Adora’s arm to pull her sideways through an oncoming crowd. “The whole universe forgot about Etheria—probably because the Imperials wanted us to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Imperials?” Adora cocked her head at the taller woman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Eternians.” On the blonde’s look of confusion, Tallstar waved a hand. “The ones who colonized Etheria before it vanished. Horde Prime’s greatest enemies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora nodded in understanding. “We call them the First Ones.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Tallstar said. “The First Ones buried your planet, so that nobody would remember you. I guess now we know they didn’t want anyone finding out about their secret weapon. But that means nobody knows what to expect from you. The whole system knows that you all destroyed Horde Prime, but they don’t know who you are, or if you’re a threat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All we want is to help,” Adora declared. “The First Ones took magic from the universe, and we want to bring it back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shhh.” Both women fell silent as a huddle of cloaked figures shuffled past them, headed down the thoroughfare in the opposite direction. “I believe you,” Tallstar said. “But the rest of the galaxy might not. You need to show them who you all are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How?” the blonde folded her arms around herself. “We’ve got </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> working spaceship. Our world isn’t ready for its own problems. We can’t take on an entire universe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t have an answer for you,” Tallstar confessed. She abruptly slowed and turned a corner, heading into one of the narrow offshoot alleys. “All I can say is that you’ve got a lot of people looking your way. Here we are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two had come to a stop halfway down the passage. The cyborg rapped on the left wall sharply. One knock, then two more, then another one. After a brief moment of silence, one of the grey bricks recessed into the stone and slid aside. A glowing blue light flashed from within, scanning the pair up and down. Then, the brick slid closed again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” came a distorted, electronic voice from the wall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Galen,” Tallstar warned. “If you don’t let us in, I’ll break the door down myself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A pause. Then: “You couldn’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe not.” The woman jabbed a thumb at Adora. “But she could.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that?” The radio voice groaned. “Fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the alley wall folded inward to reveal a mechanical doorway, Tallstar winked at the blonde and stepped into the small chamber beyond. Adora followed her in and found that they were now standing in a simple metal cube. The doors slid shut behind them, and the chamber lurched as it began to progress downwards. Another lurch, maybe ten seconds later, signaled the end of their descent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The opposite wall to the alley slid open, and Tallstar sauntered out into a sleek room made entirely of marbled, black-and-white stone. Glass consoles covered with glowing symbols and text—all in languages alien to Etheria—formed a ring in the center of the room, and as Adora followed her companion, her eyes went big as she took in the video screens that covered every wall. In the center of the ring stood a slim, pale man with shoulder-length curly hair and a pensive expression on his face. He wore a simple black shirt and pants underneath a crisp white lab coat, and stared silently at the screen on the left wall through round spectacles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora followed his gaze to see him watching what appeared to be footage of... her! She-Ra leapt through the starry void of space, battling a small contingent of Horde ships. She remembered that fight—it had come just after they rescued Catra. She’d dispatched those robots with her newfound power and unleashed abilities she didn’t even know she had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me,” the man said. “Does the glow of transformation remain indefinitely, or does it disappear? Do you have control over when it is dismissed?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh,” Adora scratched at her head. “I’ve never really thought about it.” She glanced at Tallstar, who shrugged, leaning against one of the glass panels. “I guess it disappears when I’m not in super intense fight-y mode?” She did a couple of air punches to show off her fight-y mode.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Interesting.” Galen’s blue-eyed gaze turned to inspect her. The elfin points of his ears stuck out through his hair. “Why do you suppose that is?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Magic?” Adora ventured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Galen nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer. Tallstar leaned forward over the console and waved. “Hey, Dr. Nycroft.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man sighed. “Hello, Cassandra. To what do I owe this inopportune visit?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to talk about... things,” the Star sister said ominously. “Which you are an expert on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am an expert in many fields, Cassandra,” Galen Nycroft said, stepping out of his ring of computers and circling around to meet them. “You’ll have to be more specific.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will someone tell me what is going on?” the blonde princess cried. “Your name is Cassandra?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, Adora,” Tallstar said, leaning her shoulder against the console and staring her dead in the eyes. “Horde Prime took over the galaxy and wanted to replace everything in it with more of himself. He sucked. Royally. But he also knew how to keep things in order around here, so now that he’s gone...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Old threats are reawakening,” Dr. Nycroft finished from Adora’s other side. “I see.” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and steepled his fingers. “You want to know about the Eaters.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that was a huge waste of time,” Glimmer lamented, trudging through a shallow puddle. Her face soured as the water soaked through her boots.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not completely,” Bow countered. “They </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> have nice food.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but Jewelstar’s contact didn’t show,” the pink-haired princess replied. “So we spent a whole hour there for nothing!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Starla hummed along ahead of the duo, seeming pleased despite the night’s fruitlessness. Bow put an arm around his childhood friend, feeling her lean her head on his shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m sure the others have had better luck. One failed team is no big deal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just want to be useful,” Glimmer confessed. “Adora needs us to step up, and I feel like I’m not good enough.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow felt a twinge in his chest as he remembered his conversation with Catra that morning. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted when they bumped into Starla, who had stopped in her tracks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What—?” he began to say, but the Star girl shushed him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Glory heard something,” Starla murmured. She turned her head to the right, following the alien owl’s flight path as it glided around to a point some twenty feet down the road.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow carefully unslung his weapon, nocking an arrow to the string. Beside him, Glimmer took up a similarly combat-ready pose, her fists shimmering with energy. The trio stood, frozen with bated breath, as out of the shadows before them prowled—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Melog!” Glimmer cried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Krytian cat mewled pitifully as it stumbled into the fluorescent light. Glimmer and Starla knelt down to inspect it as Bow stowed his weapon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it doing here?” the archer asked. “Are the others here too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Starla glanced up to the owl, which flitted down to alight on her shoulder. “No,” the Star sister replied, her face growing tight with worry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Melog would never have left Catra behind,” Glimmer said, “unless something was really wrong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shapeshifter squeaked again, its echoey voice weak and strained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They must be in trouble,” Starla murmured. “We need to get Tallstar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And Adora,” Bow added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glimmer stroked Melog’s head and looked up at Bow with anxious eyes. “How? We don’t know where they went.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow’s mouth tightened. “I don’t know.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Catra twisted her claw further into the base of the holographic projector, slowly peeling the metal siding open, more and more. In the days following Shadow Weaver’s disappearance, she had inspected the cell over and over, turning the scene over in her mind to figure out exactly how the sorceress had gotten out. Eventually, she’d discovered a tiny panel along the bottom of the energy screen which had been overloaded with a jolt of electric energy. Catra didn’t have magic stashed away to cast a shock spell, but she did have her claws.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her ears pricked up, catching the sound of footsteps heading toward her from the hall. She pulled her claws free from the siding and slid backward to sit, cross-legged, in the center of her cell. From the shadowy archway, Leech emerged. The reptile hunched forward to a degree that looked uncomfortable, his new tail curling behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wonder why you came to this planet at all,” her captor mused, pacing steadily toward her. “You don’t seem the type to take on quests.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra rolled her eyes, stretching her arms behind her head. “What can I say? I wanted to go outside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I disagree.” Leech paused and inspected one clawed hand. “You are smarter than your cohorts. You are no princess. Which leads me to the next logical conclusion.” He leaned forward into the light, so that Catra could see that his once-uniformly red eyes had taken on an eerily familiar heterochromia. “You care for your companions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra bristled, leaning back away from him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“One in particular, I wager,” Leech continued. “Adora.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra lunged forward, slamming her hands against the force field. Jolts of crackling electric energy sparked at the impact. “Don’t TOUCH her!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leech’s face split into a slithering grin. “Sleep well, little kitten.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As her warden disappeared from the room once more, Catra stepped back and clutched at her arms. Then, pieces slowly coming together in her mind, she turned her gaze to the green barrier before her. Cocking her head, the feline girl reached out with a single clawed finger and dragged it against the force field, causing it to crackle and spark.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra smirked. “I will.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Episode 9: You Can't Stop the Signal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Catra makes her move, and Adora watches a slideshow... in spaaace!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Episode 9: You Can’t Stop the Signal</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I SHOULD BEGIN WITH WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Galen pressed a button on one of his consoles and the room went dark.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We do not know where they came from. We do not know why they attack. All we can say is that one day...” A holographic projection of a massive creature of endless tendrils and tails filled the open space, rippling in neon reds and purples. “One of the beasts appeared in the sky of Prisshah and tore the planet apart.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora took a step forward, her face illuminated by the image of the thing as it tunneled into the vibrant blue 3-D planet. The Eater measured roughly one-tenth the size of Prisshah, but it seemed to have no issue breaking through the atmosphere and consuming a chunk of the world, leaving only ash behind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We call them the Eaters,” Dr. Nycroft explained, “because they pull every particle of matter they touch into their core. What they use their food </span>
  <em>
    <span>for</span>
  </em>
  <span> is still a mystery, but I hypothesize that Eaters add every molecule directly to their form, growing larger the more they devour.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you stop them?” Adora asked, poking at the intangible image, which flickered and buzzed where her finger touched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tallstar stepped up next to her. “Nobody ever has.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Until Horde Prime,” Galen noted. “I do not know how, but the Emperor of the Galaxy managed to discover a method of protecting us from their onslaught.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The First Ones lost entire armies in battles against the Eaters,” Tallstar said. “They were fending off those monsters and fighting the Horde at the same time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. “No wonder they were destroyed.” She turned to look at the two others. “Why are you telling me this now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because,” Galen said, tapping at his controls and calling up an image of a smaller, grey-white orb, “two weeks ago, an Eater the size of a moon attacked the planet of Alka-1. All planetside lives were lost.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora felt her blood chill.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tallstar folded her arms, face grim. “They’re coming back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long do we have until they reach another planet?” the blonde asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Galen took off his glasses and polished the lenses with his white lab coat. “We don’t know. The Alka system is fairly isolated, and we have no way to track their progress. At least, not yet.” He swiped a hand across the glass touchscreen and cleared the projections away. He donned his spectacles and lifted his chin. “I’ve been working on a way to predict their movements. But it’s not... ready yet. I’ve been having trouble working out the machinery.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora raised her eyebrows. “I might know someone who can help you with that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Catra had spent the last hour watching for any sign that Leech would be coming back to check on her. The crime boss had appointed a couple of his bruisers to keep watch in the doorway, but the feline girl noted with a smile that the thugs were hardly a crack team of guards. They had long since fallen asleep after some raucous rounds of partying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The dark-haired girl crouched down and pressed a claw into the force field, kicking up sparks. Then, sticking out the tip of her tongue in concentration, she slashed downward along the energy shield and kicked the resulting electricity surge down into the panel she’d pulled open earlier. As the jolt arced into the shield generator, it fizzled and sparked, and then the energy field around her disappeared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On the opposite end of the room, one of the brutes stirred, moaning quietly. Catra froze, hair on her hackles raising—but then the alien thug slumped back down and continued snoring gently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The feline girl tiptoed down off of her prison platform and padded carefully toward the hallway. She paused a few feet away, eyeing the large, muscular, green-furred woman who lay unconscious on the floor before the archway. Catra inched back and crouched, judging the distance. She wiggled back and forth, digging her claws into the floor... and then she sprang. She cleared the jump easily, but she landed with her feet too far forward and nearly tipped backward. Catra suppressed a yowl and dropped her back foot behind her, stopping her from falling just in time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra breathed out slowly, heart pounding. Then, she set off into the darkness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before long, the dark-haired girl found herself approaching a light. A dim yellow glow seemed to shine into the winding stone tunnel from an offshoot passage. As she inched up to it, she heard a low voice groan.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that the last of ‘em?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Think so,” another, raspier voice responded. “Put it in the box and we can stick ‘em all in the back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra put her head low, close to the ground, and peered around the corner to see two more of Leech’s men moving what looked like small metal sheets into boxes on a large wooden desk in the center of the room. Behind the desk, a row of large metal machines blinked with multicolored lights. The cabinet-like devices were covered in ramshackle dials and analog keys. Catra noted that many of them had antennae sticking out of the top.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The henchmen—one buff and with a head of tentacles, the other scrawny and flat-faced—hefted the boxes and carried them out of the room through a door on the other side. Their footfalls and bantering voices faded, and Catra slid over the threshold and scanned the room. She took in the machinery and wracked her brain, trying to figure out what this room was for. She noticed a small handheld mouthpiece attached with a spiral cord to one of the antennaed machines, and padded toward it. With any luck...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She snatched up the mouthpiece and put a clawed hand to the squarish device, inspecting the large spinning dial on the front. Communication frequencies, she realized. She grinned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra pressed a hand to the dial and painstakingly twisted it until she reached a number that looked familiar. Then, she lifted the mouthpiece and spoke. “Hello? Can anybody hear me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What in the name of </span>
  <em>
    <span>sal-vah-rok</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” came the reply. The strained, elderly voice on the other end of the line sounded frustrated. “What did you do with my son?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I—your what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to talk to my son. How dare you cut in?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How dare I—?!” Catra cut herself off and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for the interruption sir please tell your son I wish him the best goodbye.” She hung up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From the other room, she heard footsteps slowly returning. Biting at her lip with her fanged teeth, she twisted the dial a few degrees, muttered a quiet “please, oh please,” and lifted the communicator again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello!” Darla’s smoothly modulated voice crackled through the speaker. “Crew member zero-four, designation: Catra Meowmeow. Recognized!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Meowmeow?” The feline girl let out a frustrated breath. “Awesome, Bow. Real mature.” She shook her head. Focus. “Hey Darla, listen. I don’t have a lot of time.” Catra glanced toward the doorway. Leech’s minions were about to return. “Tell Adora that I’ve been captured by a guy named Leech. He wants Melog, and he’s holding me somewhere underground. I need help, urgently.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Understood. I will relay the message immediately,” the AI replied pleasantly. “Shall I trace your tr—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, what do we have here?” the tentacled thug declared, interrupting Darla.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra dropped the transmitter and turned around, backing toward the corner as the two minions advanced slowly on her. With a hiss, the cat girl crouched and extended her claws.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Try me, discount Kyle.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You say she built an entire exosuit from decaying Eternian technology?” Galen asked, eyes wide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora nodded, smiling wide. “On an island, with a pile of scraps. She’s the best of the best.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll say,” Tallstar commented. “I’ve never seen a mind like hers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Galen frowned. The girls didn’t notice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All I have to do is explain the situation when we meet back up, and I’m sure she’ll be happy to help,” the blonde princess asserted. “If we head back to the room—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, one of Galen’s monitor screens flashed, and an alert appeared in red. He cocked his head and examined the message.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s that?” Tallstar asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen for yourselves,” the scientist replied, tapping a button.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Captain Adora,” Darla’s voice filled the room, echoing from every speaker. “I do not know which frequencies you are monitoring, so I am currently sending this message across all Setna channels. Personnel member Catra Meowmeow is being held against her will by an individual named Leech, who seeks to obtain Melog for his own purposes. I have traced the distress call signature to the following coordinates...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the computer AI began rattling off a string of numbers, Adora’s hands clenched. She looked to Tallstar, who nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Galen, we’ve got to move,” the Star sister said. “We’ll be back later with Entrapta. Thanks for the help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dr. Nycroft stared at the screen, eyes wide. “Is that a functioning artificial intelligence autopilot? I’d love to examine it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe later,” Adora said, dragging Tallstar to the elevator. “Thanks for the help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thirty seconds later, the two women dashed out of the alleyway into the street and shoved their way through the crowds. Adora followed Tallstar as the dark woman called up a holographic GPS and led the way to Catra’s coordinates.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As they ran, the blonde princess gritted her teeth and felt hot guilt and anger bubble up under her skin. She’d abandoned her lover and left her alone, and as a result, Catra had been captured and imprisoned by some kind of crime boss. What kind of horrible person was she?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Tallstar muttered to her as they took a sharp right at the end of the block. “This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> your fault. I was the one who asked you to come with me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora shook her head. “If anything happens to Catra...” something in her chest tightened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two skidded to a stop, and Adora stared at her companion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is it,” Tallstar said. “But...” she looked around. “Where?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two were standing in the middle of an open, vacant lot. Steam hissed from a vent in the far corner of the concrete plain. From behind one of the old, grey buildings surrounding them, three more familiar figures came into view.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adora!” Glimmer exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two princesses met in a tight hug. Bow and Starla jogged up to meet them, followed by Glory and Melog.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How—?” Tallstar began.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We heard Darla’s message too,” Bow explained. “She really did send it everywhere.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The group looked around at the empty area.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what now?” Starla asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait,” Adora said. “The coordinates were here for latitude and longitude. What about altitude?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tallstar checked her device. “Good catch. We should be... thirty feet down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora’s gaze snapped to the steaming vent. She strode toward it, throwing her hand out to the side, opening her fingers and grasping onto the hilt of her longsword as it flashed into being. The blonde raised her sword up into the air and shouted:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She-Ra smashed her weapon down into the grate, crumpling it like tissue paper and sending it crashing down out of sight. Then, she looked back over her shoulder at her team, a rainbow of color and magic curling off of her body. Her blue eyes shone with fury.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Follow me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And She-Ra stepped back, dropping down into the darkness below.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Episode 10: Choice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>She-Ra finally goes head-to-head with her foes to save Catra. Meanwhile, Leech likes batteries.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> She-Ra: In The Wake </span>
</p><p>Episode 10: Choice</p><p> </p><p>SHE-RA’S MULTICOLORED AURA ILLUMINATED THE MUSTY TUNNEL.</p><p>She looked back and forth at the two ends of the tunnel, assessing which way to go. As she considered the options, the rest of her team dropped down, landing with splashes in the tiny puddles that had gathered along the uneven stone. Melog mrowed, rubbing a cheek against She-Ra’s leg and staring down the left branch. Glimmer appeared from thin air beside them.</p><p>“Melog and I will go this way,” She-Ra ordered. “The rest of you clear out the other end.”</p><p>Without waiting for an answer, the armored Princess of Power set off into the labyrinth. The other two members of the Best Friends Squad exchanged a look, then headed in the other direction with the Star sisters in tow.</p><p>She-Ra briefly considered extinguishing her light to retain the element of surprise, but then she shook her head. Let them see her coming.</p><p>She’d been following the Krytian for barely five minutes before the first bruisers appeared from around a corner up ahead. Three silvery, metal-toned beings with androgynous faces squared up across from her, just past a point where the tunnel gradually widened. The triplets’ bodies shifted and morphed, growing axes, maces, and blades out of the ends of their arms, respectively.</p><p>She-Ra shifted onto the balls of her feet, balancing with her weight shifted slightly forward. She brought her sword up, willing the weapon to grow in size and weight until she had to grip the hilt with both hands. Then, she brought it up and slammed the heavy blade into the left side of the mace-handed thug, who had taken the lead in rushing her. The foe smashed sidelong into the stone wall and slumped wordlessly to the ground.</p><p>She’d hardly batted her first opponent aside before their blade-armed sibling lunged forward, stabbing at her face. She-Ra leaned to the side, letting the sharp point pass by her head, nicking her right cheek. She shrunk her sword down and whipped it back to the right. The sword, now slender and rapier-like, darted in as the princess advanced, fencing with the blade-armed one and driving them backward down the tunnel into the axe-handed bruiser. </p><p>The two fighters spun back-to-back, swapping places so that the axe-handed fighter could bring their hooked blades around and catch the edge of She-Ra’s blade. A smile parted the fighter’s chrome face as they whipped the sword out of her hand and it dissolved into light, but the expression didn’t last long, as She-Ra countered the disarming move with a left hook to their face, sending them staggering away.</p><p>As the metallic twins regrouped several feet down the hall, She-Ra extended her left hand forward, stepping up with her left foot to angle her body sideways. She resummoned her longsword and, as the grip met her hand, fired out a blast of magic energy which caught the axe-handed fighter in the chest and catapulted them into the far wall. Sword still blazing, she turned it on the blade-armed thug, who took a couple steps back, and then leapt forward and melted into a flying sheet of liquid silver.</p><p>She-Ra slashed through the fluid as it approached her, but only succeeded in disturbing the liquid metal before the alien landed on her arms and body and began enveloping her in a hardening cocoon. Legs and sword arm frozen, the Princess of Power tried desperately to pull the creature away, but only succeeded in tangling herself further. Just before her face was covered, a new figure leapt at her.</p><p>Melog, too, melted into an amorphous blob. The Krytian took hold of the metal alien and pulled it from She-Ra’s body, tackling them to the ground and forcing them to return to humanoid form, whereupon the blonde warrior lifted her sword and blasted them with a bolt of energy, knocking them out as well.</p><p>The eight-foot princess looked down at her companion. “Thanks, Melog.”</p><p>The cat creature meowed in reply, and the two set off again down the tunnels.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Bow and Glimmer broke into each chamber first, taking out enemies with lightning precision. Tallstar found herself lagging behind, mopping up stragglers after the other two had already moved on. She itched to keep up, but she recognized that hanging back from the main fight helped keep Starla out of danger, so she tried to suppress the urge to go all-in.</p><p>Leech’s lair seemed uncomfortably cramped, and as the Star sister launched her extending fists at opponents across the room, she found herself punching into walls with frustrating frequency. Every time her fists broke the stone, she had to stop and pull them out again.</p><p>Still, they made a good team, and managed to tackle all of the minions who got in their way. As they burst into the final room, Tallstar grinned, knowing that every dirty criminal who worked for Leech were feeling the consequences of their... actions...</p><p>She stopped short, staring at the man in front of her. “Jewelstar?”</p><p>Her brother, hands in front of his face to block her raised metal fist, stared back at her with a face like ash. “Tallstar. I—I can explain.”</p><p>“You sold us out,” Glimmer yelled, stalking up to the siblings. “You’re the reason Leech grabbed Catra.”</p><p>“Why?” Starla asked, sounding like she was about to start sobbing. “Why did you do this?”</p><p>“Tell me it’s not true,” Tallstar hissed at him. She felt sick. “Jewel, tell me we’re wrong! You swore we were done with him. We all did!”</p><p>Jewelstar stared at his feet. “Leech found me, when we got back on the planet. He told me to get Melog, or else... he would come after you two. I did what I had to. I had no choice.”</p><p>“Wrong,” Bow replied. “You always have a choice.”</p><p>“Come on,” Tallstar took her younger sister’s shoulders and steered her toward the exit. “We’re done here.”</p><p>The Star sisters didn't take two steps out of the room before something hard and heavy hit them from behind.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>After thirty minutes of muscling her way through the underground complex, leaving a trail of groaning henchfolk in her wake, She-Ra finally emerged into a large chamber. She descended the flight of crumbling stone steps to the floor of the room and scanned her surroundings. The chamber was shaped like a half-cylinder laid on top of a rectangular prism, so that the ceiling was curved but the floor and walls remained orthogonal to each other. The open floor space was interspersed at regular intervals with large, square stone pillars which reached halfway up to the ceiling and then stopped. These pillars formed a grid of aisles along the floor of the room.</p><p>On the opposite end of the center aisle, a tall, slender, humanoid reptile stood, clutching a squirming cat girl by the neck and shoulders.</p><p>She-Ra took a step forward. “Catra!”</p><p>The dark-haired girl looked over at her, clutching at Leech’s arm. Her mismatched eyes shone with tears—though if they were from pain or fear, the blonde couldn’t tell.</p><p>“Hey, Adora.”</p><p>The lizard man turned his gaze on the Princess of Power. “So, the legendary She-Ra comes to face me at last.” His gaze snapped to the Krytian that curled around her legs. “And you brought my prize. How lovely.”</p><p>“You’re not leaving here with either one of them,” She-Ra said.</p><p>“Ah, yes,” Leech smiled. “If I let them go, you’ll leave me in peace and all that.”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>The reptile stared at the blonde warrior.</p><p>“No,” She-Ra repeated. “You hurt my friends, kidnapped the woman I love, and from what I’ve heard, you’ve been nothing but a curse on this city. I’m putting a stop to you, Leech. Here and now.” She began to walk down the aisle toward him. “The only choice you get is when to surrender.”</p><p>Leech hissed, and in his grip, Catra wailed. Her body wilted and shriveled, and he tossed her aside. Melog yowled and broke off to get her. In the meantime, She-Ra’s eyes locked onto her opponent. Lashing his newfound tail, Leech crouched and leapt nimbly up onto one of the half-pillars. The blonde princess did the same, landing hard enough on her own platform that she cracked the stone on impact.</p><p>Leech leapt from platform to platform, circling the outside of the chamber. She-Ra began circling as well, but she didn’t bother to jump. Instead, she prowled over the pillars using the magic rainbow platforms she’d learned to create while fighting Horde ships in space. The adversaries sized each other up, and then the princess leveled her sword and blasted at Leech.</p><p>The reptile dodged out of the way, and the concussive bolt obliterated the platform he’d just been standing on, sending the stone crumbling into rubble. Then, with a roar, She-Ra charged at him. He swung up his now-clawed foot in a slashing kick which knocked her to the side, and pounced on her, knocking her back off the pillar and crashing to the ground.</p><p>The blonde princess kicked him backward with her feet, and the crime boss smashed back-first into one of the stone structures. She-Ra lunged to her feet and slammed into him, driving him back through the pillar, which also shattered as the pair continued their battle. Leech drove a fist into She-Ra’s abdomen, doubling her over. He followed up with a knee strike which knocked her away.</p><p>Staggering and trying to regain her footing, the warrior was unprepared to dodge as the huge creature’s sinuous, scaly tail whapped into her chest and drove her into a stone wall. Leech grabbed her face, webbed fingers enclosing around her cheeks. He leaned his face close to her, and the princess felt her skin crawl beneath the eyes he’d stolen from Catra.</p><p>Suddenly, a tearing pain shredded into every cell of her body. She-Ra cried out as black spots filled her vision and she dropped her sword, allowing it to dissolve into nothingness. Her bones ached and every muscle in her body seemed to grow so, so weak. How could she even stand? So weak...</p><p>Leech began to grow in size, as the princess’s vibrant aura melted off of her and onto his scaly skin. His eyes glowed, and he laughed as he tightened his hand around her face.</p><p>“So. Much. Power!” the creature exclaimed. “You are truly remarkable, Adora. Perhaps I shall keep you alive after all. You would make such a battery to recharge with.”</p><p>She-Ra couldn’t see anything anymore. The reptile’s words sounded as though they came from underwater, a long way away. Her head pulsed, and she trembled. After facing so much, she’d finally found a force she couldn’t beat. This would be her—</p><p>“AAAAGGH!” Leech howled as a surge of green energy wracked his body. He released his grip on the princess, twitching and shaking from the electric voltage arcing over his scales. Then, he collapsed to the floor in a smoking heap, revealing...</p><p>“Recharge that,” Catra muttered.</p><p>Adora felt herself return to normal in a flash of energy. Though still lightheaded, she already felt as though the effects of Leech’s touch were fading. She sucked in huge gasps of air, stumbling forward into the soft arms of her love.</p><p>“Hey, hey, Adora,” the feline girl slowly lowered Adora until they were on their knees, clutching each other. “I’ve got you.”</p><p>“Catra,” the blonde said, voice wavering. “I’m so sorry I left you alone.”</p><p>“No, no, no. Don’t blame yourself,” the shorter girl replied. “I had some bad stuff in my head, but... I’m doing better. I feel better.”</p><p>Adora raised her head, looking into the other girl’s eyes. Catra’s gaze softened.</p><p>“I’ve done bad things,” the feline girl reiterated. “And I know,” she said quickly, cutting off her love’s open mouth, “that you guys forgave me. I know. I just needed a reason to forgive myself. Because everything I did happened. But right now, I choose to be better. And that’s gotta count for something, right?”</p><p>The blonde leaned forward and kissed her. They lingered there for a moment, with each other. Then, as they pulled apart, Adora grinned.</p><p>“Good to have you back, Corporal Meowmeow.”</p><p>“Oh, what?!” Catra shouted. “That was YOU?!”</p><p>Adora sat back, laughing hysterically as Melog curled up against a sulking Catra. The two women lay in the rubble there, tension slowly leaving their bodies in the wake of their victory. In the hallway outside, an armored figure stared into the room. Helmet under her arm, the woman’s face was obscured by the shadows.</p><p>Her second-in-command stepped up next to her.</p><p>“Take them now,” she ordered. “Put them on the transport with the rest of their crew. The Council is waiting.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Episode 11: Interludes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A collection of snapshots from around the galaxy: A farmer answers questions. Galen Nycroft stares at a box. Leech does not learn from his mistakes.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Episode 11: Interludes</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>THE LINEUP OF HOPEFUL RECRUITS STOOD AT VARYING LEVELS OF ATTENTION.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At the far end of the line, three armored Horde officers inspected the candidates one-by-one. Most were passed by without comment from the supervisors, but every so often, the recruiter would shake their head “no”, and another soldier would manhandle the rejected candidate out of sight. The hot sun beat down on their crater campsite, and Elias couldn’t help but wonder at how uncomfortable the Horde armor must be in this heat. And yet, every New Horde soldier wore a full kit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Elias’s leg muscles trembled—a nervous tic he’d had since he was... ten? No, a mannerism like that should be even older. He’d had the tic since age four, when his older brother made him stand out in the rain all alone for hours. Oh, perfect! Appropriately dramatic for a disillusioned youth hoping to join up with Etheria’s roughest band of rogues.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The inspection team paused, two people down from Elias, and looked up and down at an especially hefty and well-muscled brute. Elias risked a glimpse over and saw that their target had deep blue skin which bulged with an impressive amount of muscle. His head was clean-shaven, and his ears slightly pointed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Name.” the lead Horde supervisor ordered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Crag,” the heavyset man rumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Reason for joining?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Crag shrugged. “Heard the General likes strong fighters. I’m strong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The supervisors exchanged glances between themselves, then the one at the back of the group said: “Report to the large red tent on the other side of the crater. You’ll be in a special unit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Crag stepped out of the line and walked off in the direction of the tent. His footsteps shook the ground in his wake. Elias watched the big man go, eyes narrowing. A special unit, you say?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Recruit,” a voice barked, jolting him back to awareness. “Remain in line.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, sir,” Elias replied quickly. “Sorry, sir.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Horde officer paused in front of him, taking him in. Elias didn’t look especially notable. He’d been a simple farmhand for most of his early life, but a famine had destroyed his crops and forced him into a life of crime and burglary. Since the New Horde didn’t get picky about a rap sheet, he’d decided to join up. He had some strength and experience, but his hair was starting to grey at the temples prematurely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a little old for us,” the officer observed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve got fightin’ experience,” Elias declared. “And I can follow orders.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other two inspectors stepped up next to the officer. After a tense moment, their leader shrugged and moved on to the next person in line. Elias tried not to look too relieved. He’d drawn unnecessary attention to himself by spying on Crag—a risky move which had paid off, since now he knew the General had a special unit... what could that be for?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After the batch of hopefuls had been evaluated and weeded out (nobody else had been chosen for the special unit), the ones that remained were assigned to barracks tents and ordered to take their belongings there. Elias shouldered his bag and joined the other new recruits in his squadron. He hung back behind the main group, using the walk across the campsite to take in as much information as possible about the Horde’s setup. As the others ducked into their barracks tent, he circled around behind it and fished a small handheld communicator from his satchel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a small sigh of contentment, they dropped character, allowing their slitted eyes to show through the farmer’s face they had chosen for this mission. They flipped open the communicator.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m in, Scorpia. And I’ve got a line on something juicy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fantastic!” The princess’s voice came through the speaker loud enough to make them jump. “Keep digging, and be ready to call the rest of the team in once you’ve located the General.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Naturally,” came the reply. “I hope you’ve got my payment ready.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You bet. Good work, Double Trouble.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dr. Nycroft rubbed at his mouth and chin, taking in the contents of the wire cage. He cocked his head and circled around the laboratory table to get a better angle. Quiet, soft squeaking emanated from the enclosure.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Subject is ingesting the medicatory matter as I speak,” he said aloud, the microphones all around the room recording his words. “Intended outcome: total cellular regeneration.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The squeaking continued, growing slowly faster and more frantic. A low bubbling, boiling noise added to the mix, and Galen lowered his goggles, leaning down closer to watch what happened next.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Successful initiation of cell division,” he continued. “Notable rouging and discoloration of the skin around the affected area. Subject appears to be experiencing physical distress, but cannot move.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The high-pitched cries became suddenly distorted in pitch and modulation, as if a chorus of voices were also squealing. The squeaking became lower in pitch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Subject has become bicapitate,” the doctor observed, jaw clenching. “And struggles to maintain motor functions in the midst of constant further growth.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The noises stopped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nycroft growled, shoving the cage aside and sending it spinning off the edge of the workbench to crash onto the floor. He leaned forward, face in his hands, long hair falling in a curtain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Experiment number one hundred and twenty-two is a failure,” he muttered. “Head researcher is considering abandoning the project entirely.” He looked back up suddenly. “Unless...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The scientist scrambled around the table to the countertops along the lab’s outer wall. He pulled open one of the drawers and took out a notebook, which he flipped through frantically until he arrived at a page of dense, scrawled notations and drawings of molecules and proteins.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He muttered quietly to himself, correcting small calculations and numbers on the page. Then, he looked up. “The use of non-sapient test subjects might be causing unforeseen issues with the genetic integration. Perhaps the only way to get the treatment to work properly is through human testing. I will begin work on a new serum immediately.” He looked up. “Birdbat! Bring me volumes six through nine of Scheimer’s Guide to Anatomic Splicing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He flipped the notebook shut and stared at his handwritten label on the cover. The thin, scratchy handwriting spelled out: Project Modulok.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Leech gnashed his teeth, staring at the pile of rubble which used to be the underground pillars of his private combat arena. He sat on the cracked and crumbling stairs down into the chamber, seething at the devastation of everything he’d built. After regaining consciousness, he’d prowled through the tunnels and found... nothing. All of his former henchmen had vanished. He assumed they’d run away in the wake of She-Ra’s invasion of the complex.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone who had abandoned him would regret their cowardice. Leech had dug himself out of the piles of stone and brick, clinging to the last shreds he’d absorbed from the Princess of Power. First, he would rebuild his underground empire. Then, he would gather an armada of ships and burn her beloved Etheria to ash. Nothing would remain, except the haunting reminder of what happens to those who d—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This place is truly a hovel.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leech’s head snapped up at the sound of a woman’s voice. Slowly, he got to his feet and peered into the shadowed hallway at the other end of the room. A tall silhouette, hair pulled back into a ponytail, resolved into view.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” the reptile hissed, clenching his fists and taking a step forward. “She-Ra.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unfortunately, no,” the woman replied. “From what I can tell, you have more She-Ra in you than I do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who are you?” Leech growled. He drew himself up to his full, imposing height.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My name wouldn’t mean anything to you, Leech.” She stepped up to one of the still-intact pillars and traced a hand along the stone. “I am here for one thing, and one thing only.” Her hand went to her belt and she pulled out a long, stake-shaped piece of metal. “The piece of She-Ra’s power which is still in your body”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leech raised his fists, settling back into a fighting stance. He examined the metal shard in the woman’s hand, and the strange geometric etchings along its surface. The stake had triangular patterns all over it, interrupted by dots and circles and shapes and lines. Even battered and bruised as he was, he knew he could take this intruder with ease, especially with Adora’s leftover energy. “No, you’re leaving. Right now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman chuckled. “It’s funny that you think you have a choice.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Episode 12: Next Steps</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Micah and Casta plan a road trip, Scorpia gives out compliments, and Hordak has a rude awakening.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> She-Ra: In The Wake </span>
</p><p>Episode 12: Next Steps</p><p> </p><p>MICAH STEEPLED HIS FINGERS, LEANING FORWARD TO LOOK AT THE HOLOGRAM.</p><p>“Where did these readings come from?” he asked.</p><p>From the other side of the war room table, the Captain of the Bright Moon guard tapped a button and the image zoomed out to show a landmap of Bright Moon and the Whispering Woods. “All over the kingdom, your majesty.”</p><p>“The anomalies are occurring extremely high up in the atmosphere,” Castaspella explained. “They are too far away to cause any harm to us down here, but Mystacor is facing significant interference with the magic that keeps the palace afloat.”</p><p>“We’ve narrowed the source of the disruptions to here,” the Captain said, moving the holographic map over to center on a tall, jagged, spiraling peak which jutted out into the sky, high enough to pierce the layer of crackling energy which they were investigating.</p><p>“Talon Mountain,” Micah murmured. He’d never visited the place himself, but he knew it by reputation.</p><p>“If we want to save Mystacor,” Casta said, “we need to quell that energy storm. Agho’s Binding should do the trick, but that would require a team of trained sorcerers.”</p><p>“Or just you and me,” Micah replied, looking over at his sister.</p><p>“Sire?” the Captain asked.</p><p>Micah held his gaze on Castaspella. “Think about it, Cas. You and I are the most experienced sorcerers on Etheria since Light Sp— uh, since Shadow Weaver died. We can’t spare any of Mystacor’s enchanters because they’re all busy keeping the castle in the air. We’re the ideal choice.”</p><p>“You know I’m with you always,” Castaspella replied.</p><p>“Not to intrude, your majesty,” the Captain interjected, “but who will rule Bright Moon if both of you are away?”</p><p>Micah rubbed his bearded chin. The warrior had a point.</p><p>“Are Lance and George back from the Fright Zone yet?” he asked.</p><p>The Captain nodded. “They took a detour to visit Princess Perfuma, but they arrived safely within our borders yesterday.”</p><p>“Perfect,” the king smiled. “Send them a message explaining the situation and offering the position of Ministers of Bright Moon. They can handle day-to-day issues until we return.”</p><p>The Captain bowed and left the room.</p><p>In the moment of quiet that followed, Micah stared into the flickering light of the hologram. Casta stepped up beside him and pressed a button on the table, causing the three-dimensional map to flicker and disappear. Micah looked down at his hands, allowing his long hair to fall over his face. Castaspella put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into an embrace.</p><p>“I miss my girls,” the king murmured into his sister’s shoulder.</p><p>Castaspella pulled away and looked him in the eyes, brushing strands of wild hair aside. “I know. I do too.”</p><p>“Do you think Glimmer is safe out there?” he asked, his expression pained.</p><p>Casta smiled gently. “Not only is she an exceptional fighter and sorcerer, but your daughter is traveling with a group of the most powerful Etherians in existence, led by She-Ra herself. Glimmer is safer than <em> we </em> are.”</p><p>The king sighed, shoulders relaxing. “You’re right.”</p><p>“Do you ever wonder what Mom and Dad would think if they saw us today?” the sorceress asked, leaning her head on her brother’s shoulder.</p><p>Micah smiled. “They would be proud.”</p><p>The siblings stood in silence for a moment.</p><p>“Well, maybe not of that haircut,” Casta commented.</p><p>Her brother folded his arms. “Don’t you have supplies to gather?”</p><p>With a bright, cheerful laugh, Castaspella pulled away and drifted out of the room, leaving the dark-haired king shaking his head and running a hand through his locks with a wry grin.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, team,” Scorpia declared. “Welcome to the Black Garnet chamber.”</p><p>“Very shiny,” Sea Hawk noted with an approving nod.</p><p>“Thank you,” the white-haired princess replied. “I polish it daily.”</p><p>She stood, arms folded, with her back to the glowing runestone. Before her, in a ragged clump, were her select recruits for Operation: Takedown. Scorpia drew herself up, puffing out her chest like she imagined Glimmer might do.</p><p>“You all are here because the Princess Alliance needs your help to take on the New Horde and capture the General once and for all,” she explained. “Sea Hawk, you are an experienced adventurer and cunning infiltrator. You’ve put your talents to use by fooling even the most vigilant of opponents.”</p><p>“He’s fooled <em> you </em>, you mean,” a dark woman in dreads interjected from behind the pirate, folding her arms.</p><p>“That’s exactly right,” Scorpia replied. “Lonnie, you know exactly how the Horde operates, and your hand-to-hand combat skill is better than everyone except Adora.”</p><p>Lonnie shrugged, but a small smirk tugged at her mouth.</p><p>Scorpia turned to the third recruit: another woman leaning back against the far wall, twanging a silvery thread between her fingers. “And Netossa, your planning skills are amazing. You know how to take down any opponent by using their weaknesses against them.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m pretty cool,” the princess agreed.</p><p>“Double Trouble is already on the inside of the General’s camp,” Scorpia continued as Emily clanged up next to her. “I need you to meet up with them and report on exactly what the New Horde is up to out in the Crimson Waste. Since Huntara is gone, we don’t know anything about the situation down there.”</p><p>“Why don’t we just attack them and stomp them all out now?” Lonnie asked, putting her hands on her hips.</p><p>“That’s a terrible idea!” Netossa replied. “If we crushed them on the spot, they would gather back together somewhere else. We can’t take the General down until we make her look bad in front of everyone. Otherwise, people will keep joining up.”</p><p>Lonnie’s eyes narrowed. “Sure.”</p><p>“I’m not entirely comfortable with a desert mission,” Sea Hawk said slowly. “But I’ve been to the Waste before.”</p><p>“What, exactly, do you bring to the team?” Lonnie asked. “You’re a total loser!”</p><p>The pirate gasped, stepped back from the woman. “So cruel!”</p><p>“At least he knows how to be a good person,” Netossa retorted. “Maybe you’ll join back up with your Horde pals as soon as we get there!”</p><p>Scorpia rubbed her forehead with a claw as the trio devolved into arguing before her. Maybe this group didn’t have what it took to work as a team together. Had she made the wrong choices?</p><p>Emily whirred beside her, and Scorpia looked down at the robot with a weary smile. She rubbed Emily’s round head and then took in a deep breath.</p><p>“Stop!” she shouted, and the others fell silent. “Look at us here! Adora trusted us to keep the planet safe and peaceful while she and the others dealt with problems in space. Is this really the best we can do?”</p><p>The trio exchanged sheepish looks. Scorpia paced before them, continuing to speak.</p><p>“I don’t need you three to be best friends,” she said. “But you need to act like a team, or all of Etheria will be in huge trouble.” She looked at them all. “Now, let’s get to work.”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Hordak gathered himself slowly, piecing his thoughts together as the dull ache in his head subsided to a tolerable level. His eyes opened to find himself manacled to a bench in the back of a well-maintained—if a tad inelegant—cargo transport. He found that he could hardly move his arms from their positions at his sides before the small length of chain ran out.</p><p>Soft groaning and mumbling from his right alerted him to the presence of Bow directly beside him. Hordak looked to his left to see Jewelstar, and across from him were Starla, Glimmer, Catra, and Tallstar along the opposite wall. Melog, Adora, and Entrapta were nowhere to be seen.</p><p>A tension bloomed in the clone’s chest, and Hordak gritted his fanged teeth—only to be confronted by a helmeted guard who leaned down toward him and inspected his face with a sneer. Hordak recognized the armor on sight, especially the insignia on the chestplate: a blue ring with six yellow circles evenly spaced along its length. The Interstellar Council.</p><p>“So, the synthetic is awake,” came a masculine voice. The Council Guard wore pseudo-metallic reinforced armor, but their gear was more decorative than the Horde equipment the former emperor had employed on Etheria. Even though the frivolous design weakened the integrity of the equipment, the Council kept it out of tradition. The silvery sheen reflected the harsh lights from above into Hordak’s eyes, and he squinted, unable to make out his captor’s face.</p><p>“Where is Entrapta?” he growled. “Where is She-Ra?”</p><p>The Guard backhanded his face, sending fresh pain alight within his head. As Hordak blinked spots from his vision, a second Guard joined the first.</p><p>“Insolent ‘tic, isn’t it?” asked the second Guard. Their voice sounded female.</p><p>The first Guard huffed. “Say what you will about Prime, but at least he could keep his things in line.”</p><p>Hordak clenched his fists, a rush of visceral memories flooding back. During the Horde’s previous dealings with the Council, he’d become intimately familiar with the way they treated synthetic beings. Clones, androids, and even non-humanoid species were relegated to disinterest at best, and abuse at worst.</p><p>The clone wracked his brain, trying to figure out what they’d done to the others. Based on Council operating procedures, they must have moved Adora and Entrapta to a more secure holding facility on the shuttle. The only problem, then, was figuring out how to communicate with them.</p><p>“Hey! Where are we?” Hordak’s thoughts were interrupted by Catra’s scratchy yells. “Let me out! Hey! Adora?!”</p><p>The clone groaned under his breath. Exactly what they didn’t need right now. The sound of the feline girl’s thrashing began to stir the other prisoners. The two Council Guard stood up straighter, ending their conversation. The woman stepped forward, banging on the metal ceiling to get their attention.</p><p>“Listen up!” She folded her metal-clad arms. “As of three hours ago, you are all prisoners of the Interstellar Council, pending trial on the homeworld of Intriane. You better settle in—gonna be a long trip.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Episode 13: Teacher, Tailer, Soldier, Spy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Adora seeks an unlikely mentor, Double Trouble investigates further, and did someone say SWIFT WIND?!?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Episode 13: Teacher, Tailer, Soldier, Spy</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>ADORA LEANED AGAINST THE GLASS WALL OF HER CELL, GLARING AT THE GUARDS.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For perhaps the fifth time since she’d awoken on the shuttle, the blonde princess cursed Leech for draining her strength. She still hadn’t completely regained her power, and she doubted she’d be able to maintain a transformation into She-Ra for a while yet. By that point, an escape attempt would be useless—they were already a long way from Setna.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She examined her surroundings once more. The sterile white box had just enough floor space for her to lie down on her back, feet toward the glass. On either side, she could hear Entrapta and Melog in their own containment units. According to the dark-haired female officer who appeared to be in charge of the guards, the rest of Adora’s crew were being housed somewhere else.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“They require somewhat less severe measures of containment,” the woman had drawled, eyeing her through the glass.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You can’t keep us here,” Adora had replied, eyes narrowed. “We did nothing wrong!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That is for the Council to determine.” The woman folded her arms. She wore the same red-and-white armor as her underlings, though she kept her helmet off to showcase her black hair in its neat, formal braid. The insignia on her chest had star symbols in place of the yellow circles of the others, and the small namecard on her chest read: BANNING. “We are simply detaining you to ensure cooperation.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“How do we know that the others are alright?” Adora asked.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Banning tilted her head, as if considering. “Name one of your companions and we will bring them here to attest to your crew’s safety.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Adora’s mouth tightened as she ran down the list of people. Who did she want to see the most? That one had an easy answer, but... who did she </span>
  </em>
  <span>need</span>
  <em>
    <span> to talk to?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She met Banning’s eyes. “Bring me—”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hordak!” cried Entrapta as the blue-haired clone stumbled into the room, shoved by his armored escort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ex-emperor gathered himself, looking back over his shoulder as Banning stepped back over the threshold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dark-haired officer lifted her chin, eyeing the clone with a snort. “You have ten minutes.” Then, she closed the door, leaving them alone with just one Council Guard to watch them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Entrapta,” Hordak said quietly. “I am... pleased to see that you are unharmed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hordak,” Adora interrupted. “We need to talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The clone looked to her, then inclined his head. “Yes. I agree.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know these people?” the blonde asked, stepping up close to the glass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hordak paced in front of her cell. “I do. The Interstellar Council is an alliance between the six most powerful planets in the known galaxy. They act as a police force which maintains order and protects the interests of their members. Horde Prime largely ignored them because they did not pose a threat to his goals.” He paused where he stood and met Adora’s gaze. “They were too cowardly to act against him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora glanced over at the Council Guard to see if Hordak’s words had struck a chord, but their captor remained stoic and unmoving, face mostly hidden by a red helm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked back to Hordak. “What do they want with us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ex-emperor rubbed his chin with a clawed hand. Adora noticed that his new biomechanics were much sleeker and well-integrated to his dark blue spacesuit than the old design. Entrapta’s work, she guessed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Council cares only for their own power,” Hordak muttered. “They are—are fickle and reluctant to make any bold decisions. They want to know if you will be an asset to them, or a threat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have to convince them to leave Etheria alone,” Adora declared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some of them will want to do precisely that,” Hordk replied. “But others will be searching for avenues to take the planet as their own.” He stared into Adora’s eyes, harsh red meeting crystal blue. “Every person on Intriane wants to use you as a tool, She-Ra. They will trick, and persuade, and bully you into achieving their own ends. This is not a threat that you can punch away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora nodded. “That’s why I’m going to need you to guide me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hordak’s eyes widened, mouth opening a little in surprise. Adora could see his mind processing her words and what they meant. Then, slowly, his expression settled and he nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then guide you I shall, She-Ra.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Swift Wind let out a relieved huff as his hooves touched the ground and he slowed to a stop amidst the trees. As Micah and Castaspella dismounted, he stretched his wings and tossed his colorful mane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks again for taking me along, guys!” the alicorn exclaimed. “Things have been pretty boring since Adora left to do her big space adventure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Casta stepped up next to the steed and patted his shoulder. “Thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> for giving us a lift, Swift Wind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure Adora misses you as much as you miss her,” Micah said, leaning back against a large stone outcropping. “She’d be proud of the work you’re doing with the Princess Alliance in her absence.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope so,” Swift Wind replied. “We sometimes send little messages back and forth through the old magical connection. She gets mad a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> out there.” The horse’s brow furrowed. “Kinda scary how mad she gets.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Castaspella dug into the saddlebags and pulled out a map scroll, unfurling it to reveal a drawing of Bright Moon and surrounding regions. She cast a locator spell with a flick of her fingers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There,” the sorceress said, pointing at a glowing dot that had appeared on the map. “We’re about an hour’s flight away from Talon Mountain. Maybe a little more if Swift Wind needs to rest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me? Rest?” the alicorn cried, opening his wings as wide as they could go. “Never!” Then, he yawned hugely, feathers trembling. He pulled his wings back in sheepishly. “Okay, maybe a little.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Talon Mountain?” Swift Wind’s ears pricked up and his head snapped to attention at the unfamiliar voice. “That’s a dangerous place to be, even when the sky </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> covered in blue lightning,” the voice continued from somewhere above them in the trees. It sounded feminine, but distinctly scratchy and throaty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Swift Wind stomped his hooves, rearing back and forth. “Who said that? Show yourself!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay, chill out!” From among the dense leaves of the closest tree, a humanoid figure crawled down headfirst, coming to a stop at the steed’s eye level.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Swift Wind blinked in surprise. Clinging to the tree before him was a slim, birdlike girl with vibrant blue-and-brown feathers all over her body. Her back feet were talons, and each clawed hand emerged from a hybrid of wing and arm. From her feathered head, a few brown locks fell about her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you?” Castaspella interrogated, leveling a glowing finger at the new arrival.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Castaspella,” her brother chided. “Magic is not necessary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The harpy shrugged. “Just passing through.” She pulled her feet down so that she could perch on the edge of the tree’s roots. “You two look like sorcerers, though. Don’t you folks stay in your fancy sky castle?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Most do, but we’re headed for the Mountain,” Micah said, getting to his feet. “We have an important task to finish.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The harpy cocked her head. “Sounds mysterious.” She hopped down onto the ground and strutted past them, hands tucked into her torn brown robes. “Have fun with that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Swift Wind stared at the girl as she began walking off into the woods. “That’s it? You’re going to leave us alone instead of causing any crazy, unnecessary problems?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The harpy looked back over her shoulder with a puzzled expression. “Why would I do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, I ask the same thing, but it keeps on happening,” the steed replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said Talon Mountain is dangerous,” Castaspella interjected. “Could you tell us what you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whole place is a death trap,” the bird girl said. “Sharp rocks, tricky terrain, gigantic wild spiders—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Swift Wind shuddered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t help that the entire place is in a constant lightning storm these days,” she continued. “You magic-y types wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know what caused the disturbance,” Micah said. “But we do intend to stop the energy wave before anyone gets hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl snorted. “Too late for that, sorcerer. Harpies have been getting struck down left and right, and the ones who are still around are angry. Why do you think I’m headed </span>
  <em>
    <span>away</span>
  </em>
  <span> from Talon Mountain?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Micah,” said Castaspella. “This could be a more difficult journey than we expected.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, my liege!” Swift Wind declared. “I’ll protect you both!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Micah chuckled. “Thanks, Swift Wind. But I think Casta and I can handle ourselves just fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We appreciate the warning,” said Casta, turning back around to the harpy. “You’ve really... helped us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Micah and Swift Wind turned back as well to see that the stranger had disappeared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She seems nice,” the king said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Elias opened his eyes once, revealing thin, reptilian slits. Then, he blinked and they were again his usual dark brown. He sat up slowly and looked around. The other Horde soldiers in the tent were all still fast asleep. On the opposite end of the musty space, he spotted the huge, muscular form of Crag slowly taking in deep breaths.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The farmer-turned-bandit slipped out of his sleeping bag and tiptoed to the tent exit. Once he emerged into the cold, starry night sky, they transformed back into their natural form.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Time to find out what’s really going on here,” Double Trouble murmured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shapeshifter eased into the dark shadows of the campsite, moving along through the dim regions cast aside by the flickering torchlight that illuminated the area. The New Horde remained active late into the evening, but traffic seemed to slow down around midnight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Carefully, with the trained precision of an experienced infiltrator, Double Trouble ghosted past the rowdy patrols until they found themself crouching behind a cluster of barrels, ten feet from the entrance to the special unit tent. The shapeshifter sniffed the air and wrinkled their nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever you’re keeping in these barrels,” they commented quietly, “smells </span>
  <em>
    <span>nasty</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Up ahead, they watched as a woman with cropped blonde hair ducked out of the tent and strode past the armored guards, waving a lazy goodbye and yawning as she headed out—undoubtedly to get some sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect,” Double Trouble said, already transforming to take on her shape.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the blonde soldier, Double Trouble approached the tent with confidence. They decided they would call this persona... Sal. Militaristic, but with a touch of grace—an excellent choice, if they did say so themself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sal nodded to the guards as she approached, and one of them tilted their helmeted head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t you just leave?” the soldier asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Forgot my baton,” Sal replied with a yawn. “I’ve been working too late.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, believe me,” said the other guard. “I know what you mean. The General’s nuts for keeping us on duty all day. I don’t know what he wants to get out of that thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” the first guard chimed in, “I think you mean what </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> wants to get out of that thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No way, the General is totally a guy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re crazy, that voice is a woman’s voice!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the two troopers bickered, Sal slipped past them and into the tent. She smirked at their debate. Apparently, nobody in the entire New Horde had ever seen or heard the General without their armor, and debates abounded over the person beneath. Which completely missed the point, of course. The true artistry of the General, Double Trouble knew, was that the person under the helmet </span>
  <em>
    <span>did not matter</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The General could be anyone, and so they were everyone. The Horde itself made flesh. Genius! Double Trouble almost wished they had thought of the idea first. Instead, here they were, spying on the one other person on the planet who knew true stagecraft.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sal dropped her disguise, and Double Trouble reached out to snatch a torch from off the wall. The interior of the tent slowly cleared out over the evening, as the shapeshifter had discovered, and the blonde woman was often the last one to leave for the night. Tonight seemed to be no exception, and as Double Trouble lifted their torch, they found the huge, dark space entirely empty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From their meager illumination, they could see long tables filled with scientific equipment and apparatuses that cast strange shadows all over the fabric walls. The tent was nearly the size of She-Ra’s starship, and in the center of the space sat a deep pit excavated from the earth. Double Trouble crept up over the edge of the pit and peered down into the darkness. The flickering orange torchlight danced over their angular face as they took in the scene below.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” the shapeshifter breathed.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Episode 14: Reasons to Fight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Adora meets a Dora. Operation: Takedown prepares to strike. Glimmer and Catra start a sad book club.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> She-Ra: In The Wake </span>
</p><p>Episode 14: Reasons to Fight</p><p> </p><p>SHORTLY AFTER THE SHUTTLE LANDED, BANNING ESCORTED THE ETHERIANS OUT ONTO AN ELEGANT DISEMBARKING PLATFORM.</p><p>Before they left the ship, the Council Guard had removed all chains and handcuffs, and Glimmer massaged her wrists as she joined the others on the concrete. She looked up at the stars, twinkling through the glass dome that encased their location. They seemed to have landed in a mountainous region, outside of a palatial structure made from marble and gold. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her wings, letting out a quiet sigh as she worked out the kinks that had formed from the long journey on the unforgiving bench.</p><p>Catra sidled up next to her and tilted her head toward a small cluster of approaching figures. “She looks like fun.”</p><p>Glimmer snorted.</p><p>The woman at the head of the precession wore a stiff black pinstripe suit with a grey button-down beneath. Her short, blonde hair—both women were reminded of Scorpia’s usual style—had been impeccably tailored and gelled, and her shiny golden lips matched her tie. One could hardly look <em> less </em> fun.</p><p>“You caused quite the scene on my planet,” the woman said in a curt voice as she came to a stop before the group. “I seem to recall requesting minimal disturbance, Commander Banning.”</p><p>Banning saluted. “Councilor Ambassador. We followed protocol as best we could, but the Etherian vessel proved... temperamental.”</p><p>Glimmer looked back over her shoulder at the large cruiser. Their captors had brought Darla with them? She felt some tension in her shoulders release—they still had a way home.</p><p>“Your name is... Ambassador?” Adora asked from beside Banning.</p><p>Hordak cleared his throat. The sound seemed odd to Glimmer coming from him. “The names of Setnans are derived from their professions. The custom dates back to their history as spacefaring nomads.”</p><p>The golden woman put her right hand to her left cheek in a gesture Glimmer didn’t understand. “The synthetic is correct, and remarkably well-versed. I am the Ambassador for my people to the Interstellar Council—but you can call me Dora.”</p><p>“Oh, this is gonna get confusing,” Adora muttered under her breath.</p><p>Glimmer looked closer at the Setnan woman and realized that her skin was inhumanly pale and translucent enough that she could see some veins in her face. She couldn’t tell if the golden lips were natural or makeup, however.</p><p>“So, Dora,” Catra said, stepping up and leaning against Adora’s shoulder. “You’ve got us all cornered with no way out. What do you want from us?”</p><p>“I have not decided yet,” Dora confessed, steppling her fingers so that they pointed down at her pristine black shoes. “Setna is a marketplace, and I act to protect our business interests. As a matter of fact, much of the Council remains undecided as to how to address Etheria.”</p><p>“What does that mean?” asked Bow.</p><p>“It means,” Hordak replied, “that we have a chance to gather support.”</p><p>Dora tilted her chin in a small nod. “You are scheduled for an official hearing in two days, but until then, you are welcome—and in fact, encouraged—to sway individual Councilors with your argument.”</p><p>Adora punched a fist into her palm. “Sounds good! Where do we start?”</p><p>“With me,” the Councilor replied. “Walk with me, She-Ra. The rest of you will follow Commander Banning to your housing.”</p><p>The blonde princess glanced to Hordak. As Adora hurried after the pale woman, Hordak in tow and flanked by even more Guards, Glimmer placed a hand on Catra’s shoulder.</p><p>“Come on,” the princess said. “She’ll be back soon. Let’s get settled in.”</p><p>A few feet away, Entrapta stepped up to Banning. “Could I maybe get the chance to check on Darla? I want to make sure that all of her systems survived the journey without significant damage.”</p><p>“You can’t be allowed access to your vehicle,” the officer replied, curtly.</p><p>“But she has very delicate systems!” Entrapta grabbed the woman’s chestplate and pulled on it. “I have to run some tests!” She continued to argue, cajole, and moan as the group headed into the palace, dragging her along.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Netossa put a hand up to shade her eyes from the hot sun. She scanned the campsite below, watching haphazardly armored Horde soldiers wander about their daily routines. At this distance, they looked like little more than colorful specks. Laying next to her on the ridge, Lonnie stared through a set of sleek-looking gray-and-green binoculars.</p><p>“Can I see those for a second?” Netossa asked.</p><p>Lonnie did not move. “No.”</p><p>A leather-booted foot landed beside the princess’s head with a thud, sending up a sizable cloud of dust and making her cough as she waved it away from her face. She squinted up at the flamboyant sailor with a grimace. He posed dramatically, looking through his spyglass at the scene.</p><p>“Hmmm...” Sea Hawk said loudly. “Quite the armada the General has assembled here.”</p><p>Netossa reached up and yanked him down behind the ridge by the back of his shirt. “Get down! Do you want us to get caught before we even find Double Trouble?!”</p><p>“Found them,” Lonnie said. She pointed at a gray-clad speck down on the ground which, to Netossa, looked exactly like all of the rest. “Their identity is the old farmer, right? They seem to be doing fine.”</p><p>“Now we make contact,” Sea Hawk said. “Perhaps through an elaborate bird call!”</p><p>“Don’t you dare,” Netossa hissed, putting a hand over the pirate’s mouth before he could say another word. Sea Hawk mumbled something sadly behind her palm.</p><p>“No need,” Lonnie said. “I’m already in communication using old Horde signal codes.” She clicked on and off her binoculars’s built-in flashlight in a precise pattern.</p><p>“Not to contradict your plan,” Netossa replied, “but won’t the New Horde know how to decode those signals?"</p><p>Lonnie’s lips thinned. “Most of them are wannabe thugs. Besides, nobody’s looking for it, and we’ve already started talking.”</p><p>“I don’t know, I think we should play it safe.” Netossa reached out, releasing Sea Hawk’s mouth and taking hold of one side of the binoculars. Lonnie looked up and glared at her. Then, the ex-Horde soldier yanked the device out of Netossa’s grip. With a huff, the princess turned away, only to see Sea Hawk standing triumphantly atop the ridge again.</p><p>She yanked him back down with even more force. “Stop that!”</p><p>The pirate glanced at Netossa and blushed sheepishly. “What is Double Trouble saying?” he asked.</p><p>“They say... they’ve figured out why the General is out here in the middle of nowhere,” Lonnie said slowly, deciphering the return message as the shapeshifter blinked out the words with a torch. “The New Horde has uncovered something major... but DT needs our help to get the evidence out.”</p><p>“What is the evidence?” Netossa asked.</p><p>Lonnie relayed the question in a series of flashes. Then, her brow furrowed as the response came in. “They just say that it’s big.”</p><p>“Tell them we’ll infiltrate the camp tonight,” the princess replied. “We can’t delay the operation any longer.”</p><p>Sea Hawk leapt to his feet and posed for the third time. “ADVENTURE!!”</p><p>Netossa and Lonnie yanked him back down.</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Catra huddled up in her bunk, tail curling around her feet. She and the others had been shown to these rooms by Commander Banning after Adora left with the Ambassador. Each one had an upper and a lower bunk built into the right and left walls, making for a total of four occupants per room. Much to the feline girl’s chagrin, that meant she would be sharing with Glimmer and Entrapta.</p><p>The purple-haired princess was currently in the throes of delight as she and the others pored over dense volumes the Guards delivered from the Citadel’s library.</p><p>“What are you looking for?” Starla asked, flipping through an art volume.</p><p>“We asked for volumes specifically related to the Council’s court system,” Entrapta replied. “These are FASCINATING.”</p><p>“If we want to make a defense,” Bow explained, tossing aside what looked like an honest-to-goodness <em> ancient scroll </em>, “we need to know how this place works.” He looked around. “Man, my dads would love to see this stuff.”</p><p>Catra groaned, flopping over onto her back and staring up at the low ceiling. This all felt uncomfortably like being back in the Fright Zone. She bit her lip, wishing Adora hadn’t disappeared so soon after landing.</p><p>A rush of wind and the sounds of scattering paper interrupted her thoughts, as Glimmer rose up gently and lighted on the edge of her bed, folding her wings neatly behind her so that they were hardly visible. The girl had gotten very good at managing those extra limbs.</p><p>Catra’s eyes flicked to the princess. “Hey, Sparkles.”</p><p>“Come with me,” Glimmer said. “I want to show you something.”</p><p>Catra sat up and raised an eyebrow at her, but the other woman simply smiled and reached out a hand. With a shrug, Catra took Glimmer’s hand. The two descended from the upper bunk and sidled out of the room. In the marble-and-gold hallway outside, Glimmer waved to their guards.</p><p>“Just going for a walk,” she called out.</p><p>The duo set off together, Glimmer leading Catra on an aimless stroll of the airy, open castle. Marble columns stood interspersed with open-air pavilions and small, cultivated gardens of unusual plant life. Every hundred feet or so, they passed another set of guards. The scenery was beautiful, but Catra couldn’t help but remember the last time she and Glimmer had traversed the hallways of an unfamiliar fortress together.</p><p>“Lot prettier than Horde Prime’s flagship,” the pink-haired princess said. Apparently, she’d been thinking the same thing.</p><p>Catra shrugged.</p><p>Glimmer fished a small book from her pocket. “I found something that you should see.”</p><p>Catra took the book and looked at it. “What is this?”</p><p>“Letters from the war between Horde Prime and the First Ones,” Glimmer said. “I read through a few of them, and... those people were <em> scary </em>.”</p><p>Catra opened the slim volume and flipped through the thin, fragile pages.</p><p>“They got so detached from their reasons for fighting in the first place,” the princess continued, “that they became heartless war machines. They lost sight of their people. They were fighting just to win.”</p><p>Catra gripped the book tighter. She looked up at her friend with watery eyes. “Why are you telling me this?”</p><p>Glimmer grabbed her hands. “To show you how wonderful and powerful you really are.”</p><p>The dark-haired girl squeezed her eyes shut and pulled back, but her companion held tight to her fingers.</p><p>“Catra,” Glimmer said forcefully. “You did wrong and you made a lot of bad decisions—but when you broke down and your choice <em> really </em> counted, you <em> did not do what the First Ones did </em>. They let go of empathy, but you grabbed onto love and never let go.” Glimmer’s voice cracked a little. “You could have been lost forever, but you weren’t. You changed.”</p><p>Slowly, Catra blinked her mismatched eyes open and met Glimmer’s gaze.</p><p>“Do you know how important that is?” the princess asked. “My... my mom would have loved you.”</p><p>Catra swallowed thickly. She wiped at her face with the back of one furry hand, and then socked her friend’s shoulder.</p><p>“Ow!”</p><p>...</p><p>“Thanks, Sparkles.”</p><p>The two stood there for a few quiet moments, before the silence was broken by the approach of some familiar booted footsteps. Glimmer spun around, smiling broadly.</p><p>“Adora!” she cried.</p><p>Catra looked over at the love of her life, folding her arms and smirking as the blonde came to a stop in front of her. “Hey.”</p><p>“Hey,” Adora replied with a smile. “We’ve got a lot to tell you guys.”</p><p>Behind her, Hordak appeared as well. “Tonight, we must begin gathering support from the neutral members of the Council,” he said. “This will require the most dangerous and challenging task yet.” He clenched a clawed fist tight with a growl.</p><p>“What do we have to do?” Glimmer asked.</p><p>Adora’s face was grim. “We have to learn to dance.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Episode 15: Dressing Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bow calls home, Catra is speechless, and Swift Wind takes a trip.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> She-Ra: In The Wake </span>
</p><p>Episode 15: Dressing Up</p><p> </p><p>BOW WHACKED THE SIDE OF THE DATA PAD, TRYING TO CLEAR UP THE STATIC.</p><p>“Is that better?” he asked.</p><p>Gradually, the fuzz resolved into an image of two dark-skinned men, peering into the camera. “I think ... see you ... better now.” Lance and George were seated next to one another on the sofa in Bow’s old house, huddled around the communicator he gave them before he left.</p><p>“Hi dads,” the archer said, leaning forward on his bed, crinkling pages and sheets beneath his elbows. The sight of home released some of the tension in his gut, but also intensified his sadness at being so far away.</p><p>“Bow, we’re so happy to see you,” said Lance, smiling wide. “How are you doing out there in the stars?”</p><p>The gadgeteer scratched his head. “Things are... complicated. We’re handling it, but I could really use your help.”</p><p>“Of course, son.” George shifted closer in his seat, steepling his fingers. “What’s on your mind?”</p><p>Bow took a deep breath, readying himself for the lengthy explanation. “Okay, so after we visited Setna and saved Catra from an evil lizard who was also a mob boss we got captured by these space soldiers who work for the Interstellar Council and they want to know what we did to beat Horde Prime so they’re putting Adora on trial and—”</p><p>“Woah, woah,” George interrupted. “Slow down a little. You’re prisoners of...?”</p><p>“The Interstellar Council,” Bow finished. “They’re an alliance between the six most powerful planets in local space. Well, really it’s just the <em> five </em> most powerful.”</p><p>“What are they charging you with?” Lance asked.</p><p>“They’re investigating the destruction of the Horde,” their son explained. “Apparently, Horde Prime had a treaty with them to make sure he would leave their planets alone. One of the six broke that alliance by declaring war on the Horde: Eternia.”</p><p>“The homeworld of the First Ones?” George asked.</p><p>“Right.” Bow picked up one of the scrolls he’d been consulting earlier. “The First Ones were kicked off of the Council for that, and then they disappeared from history. Anyway, because we destroyed Horde Prime and his forces, the Council wants to judge all of Etheria! If we don’t convince them to let us go, they might take over the planet, or worse.”</p><p>The two men exchanged wide-eyed looks. Then, they leaned back in to look at their son, who was staring downcast at his research. Lance took off his glasses and wiped them with his shirt while George stroked his moustache in contemplation.</p><p>“It seems to me that all we have to do,” George said, “is convince three of the five Councilors to take our side.”</p><p>“Who are these people?” Lance asked. “Who makes the decision?”</p><p>“That’s what I’ve been trying to find out,” Bow replied, looking up at the screen. His face was drawn and tense, eyes wet. “But the archives here have so much information, I don’t even know where to start. We’ve already met the Councilor of Setna, and she only seems to care about making a profit. Besides Eternia, the other planets in the alliance are...” He paused to check his notes. “Omiros, Robotica, Intriane, and Phantos. Catra, Adora, and Hordak are going to a special party hosted by the Councilor of Intriane tonight, to see if they can convince him to support us.”</p><p>“How about this,” Lance said, his voice soft and reassuring. “George and I will consult the First Ones records that Mara and the others left behind, and see if we can find out more about these people.”</p><p>George nodded. “Might be a little out of date, but still worth checking. And the Princess Alliance will pool our resources so you have some bargaining chips. In the meantime, you all can continue to scope out things over there.”</p><p>Bow took a deep breath, eyes closed, and nodded. “That sounds good. How... how is everyone doing over there?”</p><p>“We’ve all got our own problems, but we’re safe,” George replied.</p><p>“Your father and I are in charge of Bright Moon!” Lance exclaimed.</p><p>Bow’s eyes snapped open. “What?!”</p><p>“King Micah made us his ministers while he and his sister left on a trip to deal with a magic storm in the East,” George explained, taking Lance’s hand and squeezing it gently.</p><p>The archer smiled, scratching at his head as he processed the information. “He couldn’t have made a better choice. You two always know exactly what to do.”</p><p>“We miss you, Bow,” Lance told him. “Lots of love from home.”</p><p>“Thanks, Dad,” the young man replied. “Love you both. I’ll call again soon.”</p><p>George’s eyes twinkled. “You’d better.”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Dearest Father— </em>
</p><p>
  <em> These recent months have changed my perspective on a great many aspects of the war effort. I know when I left we agreed that Eternia’s involvement was ill-advised, and that the Council’s decision to remain neutral would be the best for all our people. Yet, weeks of tending to the front lines have shown me firsthand the true magnitude of the evil we face. The King was right to break the treaty. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I came to the warfront a naive and foolish girl, intent only on researching the planets we occupied and broadening the knowledge and scope of the academies of Eternia. How I have grown since then. I have seen our soldiers in tatters, their own minds turned against them by the Horde’s foul misdeeds. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> For this reason, I have volunteered to develop a tool for our military to employ against Horde Prime. The device was originally proposed as a defense against the Eaters, but I believe I can repurpose it to destroy the enemy force.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>To end our enemy, we must be willing to use every weapon at our disposal. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> On this point, I have faced significant opposition from a frustrating faction of individuals. The magic-rich planets under our sway serve as the keystone of my magnum opus. And yet, one planet’s champion narrow-mindedly obstructs my endeavours without regard for the needs of the galaxy at large.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I write to you in the hopes that you might be able to talk some sense into her. You remember who she used to be, before this untamed magic gave her an inflated sense of self-worth and turned her against her own people’s interests. I know we have our differences these days, but I implore you to intervene. You may be the only one who can convince the girl to stand down. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I hope you can still see me as the daughter you so loved before. I will see you soon. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> With hope, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Apophine </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Catra huddled up her shoulders and set the book Glimmer gave her aside, still open with pages-side down. She’d spent the last few hours seated on the floor of the room, casually skimming through the letters, and each one got progressively harder to finish. The early documents were mostly from simple civilians at the start of the war, but as they went on, the fighting took its toll and the hopelessness of the age bled into the people writing. Yet, something drew her to read on.</p><p>At the sound of a knock on the door, she looked up. “Yeah?”</p><p>“I need your opinion,” came Adora’s muffled reply.</p><p>Catra leaned back against the wall and cocked her head. “Come in.”</p><p>The entryway slid open, revealing the blonde in a black strapless dress that fell down to her ankles. The fabric split down the center past her waist, revealing a white inner lining and the slim-fitted dark pants beneath. The white lining of the dress matched Adora’s fingerless opera gloves, her simple pearl earrings, and the low chunky heels on her feet. Glimmer must have helped, because there was no way the Princess of Power had done her own hair. Her honey-blonde locks tumbled free down her shoulders, with the gentlest of curls along their length. Since when did Adora wear her hair down? Had she ever done that before? How—</p><p>“Catra?”</p><p>The feline girl blinked. She pulled her feet close and stood up, feeling a rush of warmth in her face. Her tail swished around her legs.</p><p>“Uh...” She shrugged, scratching her coarse head of hair. “Sure. Looks good.”</p><p>Adora pursed her lips. She turned around, looking back over her shoulder at her feet. “I don’t know... maybe I should pick a different color.”</p><p>Catra stared at the other girl’s shoulder blades through the dress’s open back. “Nope, that one’s good. Keep that.”</p><p>Adora cocked an eyebrow. “If you say so. Bow really did pack for every occasion.” She turned back around and looked at Catra, realizing the other girl still wore her combat clothing. “You’re not dressed yet.”</p><p>Catra shrugged, folding her left arm across her body to hug her right side.</p><p>The blonde moved carefully across the room to take her love’s hands. “What’s on your mind?”</p><p>“The letters from the old war,” the dark-haired girl confessed. “They keep getting worse. All that pain and destruction for all that time.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Adora murmured. “I’m glad we didn’t have to see that ourselves.”</p><p>“Nobody should have seen that.”</p><p>The princess moved in close, so that the two women’s bodies pressed together. The feline girl relented, wrapping her arms around her lover and holding on as tight as she could without risking damage to the dress. Adora lifted Catra’s chin gently, meeting her gaze. Slowly, she leaned down. Catra went up on her toes to meet the advance, and the two met in a kiss.</p><p>As they parted, Catra’s expression softened. “What would I do without you?”</p><p>Adora pulled her into a firm and steady embrace. “You’ll never have to know.” She paused. “So... what are you going to wear?”</p><p>Catra smiled against her lover’s shoulder. “I have something in mind.”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>“MICAH!”</p><p>The winds sliced across the jagged mountainside, blue lightning splitting the darkness with greater and greater intensity as the climbers ascended. The sorcerer king, his wild hair whipping around him, looked down over his shoulder to see his sister clinging to Swift Wind’s mane. The steed tucked his head down, hooves scrabbling for purchase against the stone.</p><p>“WE NEED TO STOP FOR THE NIGHT!” Casta shouted. “THE STORM IS TOO STRONG!”</p><p>Micah turned his gaze skyward, following the upward slicing arc of the Talon. Thick, black cloud cover had rolled in as they approached, and they were nearly high enough to plunge into the darkness themselves. His muscles ached and burned, but he held tight to his rocky handholds despite his fingers’ protests.</p><p>“OKAY!” he called back. “FOLLOW ME!”</p><p>With a grimace, he looked around him until his eyes alighted on an outcropping which led into a shallow cave in the cliff face to his right. He pushed himself off from his position, grabbing hold of a thin ledge and edging himself along toward the cave. His feet slid and kicked against the mountain, desperately keeping him aloft.</p><p>As the ledge he held onto came to an abrupt end, his feet slipped again, and he threw his right arm out wide, grasping wildly in the cold, open air. For a terrifying moment, the fingertips of his left hand held all of his weight above the abyssal drop below.</p><p>And then his right arm landed on the outcropping he sought, and he let go with his left hand, moving it over to join his right. Grunting with effort, he pulled his torso up to the ledge, and then repositioned his arms to push himself up the rest of the way. He rolled over the edge and found himself lying flat on his back, staring up into the roiling black-and-blue storm. The hair all along his arms stood up as the air crackled.</p><p>After a moment of recovery, he sat up and scrambled to the edge, peering over to see Swift Wind and his sister down below. The alicorn was valiantly struggling upward, but the winds were too strong for him to fly, and so he had to drag and push with all of his might to make any headway.</p><p>Micah leaned over the edge, stretching out his right arm as far as he could reach. The sharp stone dug into his torso, sending daggers of pain into him. “CASTA! TAKE MY HAND!”</p><p>The sorceress looked up, holding a hand over her eyes and squinting at him. Micah stretched even further as his sister reached out as well. They hung in the wild emptiness, before connecting and holding onto each other. Tightening his grip as much as he could, the king slowly began pulling his sister up, releasing her weight from the Swift Wind’s back. For a heart-stopping second, the added weight pulled Micah forward, sending grit and pebbles tumbling over the edge and into the air below.</p><p>But the sorcerer redoubled his efforts, clinging to Castaspella with his right hand and the stone outcropping with his left. He cried out and released the last of his remaining magic, strengthening himself enough to pull his sister up over the ledge and to safety.</p><p>As Castaspella collapsed onto her side, coughing, Micah turned back to the cliff.</p><p>“SWIFT WIND!” he shouted. “COME ON!”</p><p>He flopped to the edge and looked down, too weak now to move any further. He tasted salt and rain. Every inch of his body burned and ached.</p><p>Ten feet below, the winged horse struggled to push upward against the gale that buffeted his vibrant wings. The storm suddenly picked up, and a bolt of lightning struck the cliffside next to the alicorn. Swift Wind’s eyes snapped up as his hooves left the ground, and Micah met his panicked gaze.</p><p>As if in slow motion, the steed tumbled backward into the blackness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Episode 16: The Waltz</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Adora, Catra, and Hordak have a ball. Sea Hawk provides a distraction.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Episode 16: The Waltz</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>ADORA SAGGED, CLUTCHING AT HER HEART AND NEARLY FALLING INTO CATRA’S ARMS.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adora?!” her lover cried, holding onto her. “Adora? What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde gasped for breath as the sudden jolt of pain subsided. “I... I don’t know. I felt...” She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you need to go back?” Catra asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora took a deep breath and stood again, gently pulling out of the shorter girl’s arms. “No. I’m okay.” She looked up at the open courtyard that stretched out before them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apparently, the Citadel of Intriane—where they were being kept until the trial—also served as the primary state house of the planet’s Councilor, a man named Henri. They’d been allowed the chance to come to the event because their confinement was limited to the palace grounds, and Henri’s ball was being held in the Grand Room, located on the other side of the complex from their “guest quarters”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, Adora, Catra, and Hordak stood in a small cluster on the massive green lawn, as group after group of elegantly-dressed alien people flowed toward the white stone of the building. Emerald grasses rippled in the wind, and Adora felt distinctly warmer than she should have given the surrounding snowy mountain climate. She wasn’t sure yet if the unusual temperature was a quirk of the planet or whether the Citadel just had a fancy heating system. Either way, she felt perfectly comfortable with her back, shoulders, and upper arms exposed to the wind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, maybe not </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfectly</span>
  </em>
  <span> comfortable. She still wasn’t used to dressing quite like this, but the occasion demanded formal wear. The princess looked to her left, where Catra stood in a simple white cocktail dress that bled to cream as one passed the waist and neared the knee-length hem. The dark-haired girl seemed to inhabit the dress as if she was born in it. She still refused to wear closed shoes, but she’d conceded to wearing a pair of white heeled sandals that allowed her clawed toes to touch the ground. Over her shoulders, she’d draped a thin, filmy shawl that matched the cream of her dress. As the finishing touch, she’d let Glimmer smooth and comb her hair, fixing it half-up into a bun on the back of her head, and allowing the rest to hang chin length. Seeing her like that made Adora grin like an idiot every time, so she quickly turned to look at Hordak on her right before Catra noticed her staring again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The clone fidgeted with his grey collared shirt, using one claw to pull at the neck to loosen his crimson cravat. His vest matched the navy of the suit, which he didn’t wear so much as tolerate on his body. His grey formal shoes matched the shirt, and a single purple gemstone adorned the silver ring on his right hand. The former emperor shifted back and forth on his feet, grumbling under his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hordak’s eyes caught Adora watching him, and he lowered his hand with a quiet growl. “This meeting is of vital importance. You cannot afford any sickness now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora’s brow furrowed, but she knew he was correct. “I’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trio exchanged glances, and then looked back at the vast crowd on the grounds before them. Nobody moved.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is... a popular event,” Hordak observed awkwardly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, for the love of—” Catra snatched Adora’s hand up and began pulling her toward the lights of the gala. “Let’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>, already!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With Hordak trailing behind, the two women joined the throng.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ten</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the patrol came close, Lonnie pressed her back to the metallic crates behind which she hid and counted quietly under her breath. She could hear the soldiers bantering and arguing as they neared her position, and she found herself instinctively grabbing for her baton as a reflex.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Nine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Again, she noted the many small differences between the General’s forces and the Horde she’d grown up in. To an outside observer like the princesses, the New Horde might have looked like the second verse, same as the first—but Lonnie knew better. The New Horde was a little bit louder, and a whole lot worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Seven</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The General placed very little management or control over their army, such that the New Horde operated more like a band of thugs than an organized militia. They took trophies and decorated their gear in displays of pride. Every member was disrespected equally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...because you never wash!” one of the soldiers shouted as they passed by.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a loud clank as one of the others presumably socked her in the arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi! Uncalled for!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group broke out into chortles and rough snickering. Lonnie smirked—they did seem like fun people. Hordak would never have allowed such behavior while on duty.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Five</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, Lonnie didn’t trust the General. No matter how egalitarian and brotherly the army seemed, their leader remained an enigma. She could never follow anybody who hid their face like that. At least Hordak hadn’t been a coward.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Three</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The chatter of the enemy troops faded as they rounded the corner of the pitched-tent setup and headed back toward the heart of the camp. Lonnie eased forward onto the balls of her feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Two</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She peeked out from behind the crates and pinpointed the tent where Double Trouble was supposedly sleeping. The patrol passed right by it without a wink.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>One</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lonnie closed her eyes. Somewhere far away, on the other side of the camp, a loud explosion reverberated in the night, and panicked shouts arose from all across the camp. Distantly, she thought she heard a voice yelling about adventure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right on time.” Lonnie grinned, eyes snapping open. She darted out from her cover and raced for her target as dazed and alarmed Horde troops began emerging from the tents around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the confusion, she reached the tent opening without being questioned, and nearly bowled over a salt-and-pepper-haired man in middle age. Lines crinkled around his eyes and mouth and he smiled down at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, miss.” He grabbed her shoulders to steady her. “Careful where you’re goin’.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She peered at him. “Double Trouble?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man’s face grew dark and thunderous. He leaned in close to whisper and placed a large, hairy hand over her mouth. “Hush! Don’t go yellin’ around like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lonnie wrenched herself free of the shapeshifter’s grip. “Quit playing around, DT! We don’t have time.” She dragged the man aside, behind his sleeping tent and out of the view of the still-growing crowd of soldiers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Double Trouble dropped their disguise as soon as they were out of sight. They looked across the tents toward the bonfire in the distance. “I must say,” they said, turning back to Lonnie and inspecting their claws, “when we talked about a distraction, I didn’t expect something quite so... </span>
  <em>
    <span>avant garde.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sea Hawk basically only has one trick,” Lonnie shrugged. “But he’s good at it.” She turned and scanned the cratered camp. “Now, where are we going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Double Trouble smirked, already shapeshifting into a new disguise. “Follow me, darling.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After ten minutes of fruitless searching for the Councilor, the group came to a rest under one of the massive marble pillars evenly spaced across the massive gilded ballroom. They debated in close tones as the din of the crowd layered around them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What now?” Catra asked. “We’ve looked everywhere!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There is one location we have yet to check,” Hordak corrected her. His eyes narrowed. “The dance floor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra’s ears flattened. “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> going out there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Adora cried. “Come on, you danced at the Princess Prom!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did?” Hordak asked, staring at the cat girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I learned </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> dance for that,” Catra said defensively, folding her arms. “From Scorpia.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah...” Adora scratched her head. “Glimmer only taught me a couple moves back then, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your level of skill is irrelevant,” Hordak said. “One of us needs to investigate the area.” Both women looked up at him. The clone took a step back. “I, er... I’m not a dancer. And the people of Intriane do not look kindly upon artificially-created beings.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora took a quiet breath. Then, she snatched up Catra’s hand and yanked her toward the dance floor before the shorter girl had a chance to protest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde ducked out of the safety of the sidelines, pulling Catra into her arms as she began to spin across the open dance floor amid the other couples in their gorgeous finery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adora!” The cat girl’s eyes were wide in fear. “What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m dancing with the woman I love,” the princess replied. “Relax and follow my lead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra clutched the taller girl’s arms tight, claws digging into the fabric of her opera gloves. Adora winced at the pinpricks, and then closed her eyes. She pushed the pain aside and reached into her heart, drawing on a piece of She-Ra’s power that she hadn’t accessed before. Adora knew that being the Princess of Power allowed her to draw on fighting skills she hadn’t learned from the Horde, but perhaps the previous She-Ras had bequeathed some other talents to her as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adora,” Catra muttered in her ear. “You’re glowing...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora’s eyes opened. Sure enough, a faint multicolored aura had begun to curl off of her skin, enveloping both of them in its light. She didn’t know it, but her blue eyes were shimmering as well. With an elegance she didn’t know she had, the blonde princess adjusted her stance, drawing Catra into a perfect waltz frame.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, she stepped smoothly off of her right foot and into a gently turning box step that carried the duo around the vast space. Catra picked up on her physical cues quickly, and matched her movements perfectly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re good at this,” Adora said, looking down at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra grinned, one tooth poking out. “I’ve lived my whole life next to you, idiot. I could follow your lead in the dark.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Princess of Power pressed her forehead to her lover’s. The pair spiralled through the open air, surrounded by soft yellow light and white marble stone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Catra drawled, “magic dance skills </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be the lamest princess power of all time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Adora scoffed. “No way!” Then, her face suddenly became wide-eyed and solemn. “Is it really? I—I’m lame?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra rolled her mismatched eyes, reaching out with her left hand and caressing the taller girl’s cheek. “I was kidding, dork. I actually kinda like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The gentle, orchestral waltz swelled around them, and Adora guided the dark-haired girl into a graceful underarm turn. As they met again together, Catra let out her characteristic squeaky laugh. The song came to an end, and Adora dipped her lover and held the pose there for a moment. At the other end of the room, the aliens of the orchestra lowered their gorgeous instruments—some familiar, some strange.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pair stood back upright and embraced, laughing quietly together in the middle of the dance floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you,” Catra said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora kissed her on the cheek. “I love you too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the blonde looked past the shorter girl’s head, her gaze alighted on a figure in ornate black uniform leaving the dance floor with a white-suited porcupine-like alien on his arm. She recognized his face as he turned and brought it into view.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good news,” she said, breaking the hug and keeping her eyes locked on the man. “I just found Councilor Henri.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Episode 17: Negotiations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Glimmer has a brain blast, Catra casually insults Hordak, and Sea Hawk finally gets his adventure.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Episode 17: Negotiations</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>GLIMMER RUBBED AT HER BLOODSHOT EYES, BLINKING AWAY THE STINGING CALL TO SLEEP.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For what felt like the hundredth time that night, she re-read the same passage of the Interstellar Council’s legal code: </span>
  <em>
    <span>In sanction for inciting war with the Horde, against the express ruling of the Council at large, the Eternian Chair is hereby suspended until such time as the Eternian Empire ceases all military action against Horde Prime’s forces. All votes made by said Chair in suspension shall be counted as an abstention.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did we end up in such a mess?” she asked. Bow—curled up in her lap and snoring gently—gave little in the way of response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer smiled softly, rubbing at her boyfriend’s thick, soft head of hair. He’d promised to stay up with her to continue preparing their defense, but after closing his eyes to ‘take a break’ half an hour ago, had slipped fully into sleep. She didn’t mind—she stayed up later than he did most nights anyway. Bow was an early bird, but he took care not to disturb her when he awoke, and she adored him for that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A noise from beyond the room’s threshold caught the princess’s attention, and she carefully slid herself out from under Bow’s head to investigate. She peered out of the room and spotted three figures in cloaks creeping down the hallway. One of them turned back and met her gaze, and she recognized Tallstar—meaning the other two must have been her siblings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” she whispered as loud as she dared. “The guards will catch you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tallstar glanced back at the others, and then hurried up to Glimmer’s side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We overheard some chatter—there’s an ongoing initiative to recolonize our home world and heal the damage done by Horde Prime,” the Star sister explained. “There’s a shuttle leaving tonight. We have to go help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer’s eyes widened. “That’s great news!” She glanced past Tallstar. “You’re... taking your brother?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He did something terrible,” the woman admitted. “But he’s family, and everyone deserves a chance to change. To be better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer nodded, remembering the loved ones in her own life who’d taken dark turns and come back out again. “Do you really think you can make your planet whole again? Fix what Horde Prime broke?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tallstar shrugged. “The galaxy won’t ever be what it used to. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make something new. Maybe something better than what we had before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds like a good plan,” the pink princess replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And besides,” the Star sister said, “that planet is our home. We represent everything it is and was. No matter how long it’s been or how far we’ve traveled, that’ll never change.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something in those words sparked Glimmer’s mind. A piece that had been drifting untethered suddenly locked into place. She met Tallstar’s eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know how to save Etheria.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hordak watched from afar as Adora and Catra walked up to speak to Intriane’s Councilor. Their dance gambit worked out, it seemed, and the two women were now engaged in negotiations with the second of the five representatives they faced. As the clone debated whether or not to join them in their discussion, his thoughts were interrupted by a hand taking hold of his shoulder and spinning him around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> doing here?” hissed his assaulter—a short girl with wild, unkempt red hair who lunged forward to pin Hordak against the nearest pillar. She seemed to be locked in battle with her ornate periwinkle blue gown, a dress far fancier than its wearer. “A Horde synthetic thinks it can just walk into our palaces? Our homes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hordak raised his clawed hands, palms out. “I am not with the Horde. I am a free individual with my own life and mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were grown in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>box</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” the woman retorted. “And programmed to destroy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>People around them were beginning to take notice, shooting scandalized glances at the pair and muttering at varying volumes. Hordak noted with unease that most of the angrier looks were directed at him. Even with Horde Prime gone, calling attention to himself in the galaxy at large would likely find the ex-emperor more enemies than allies. His face reminded people of the monster who’d sired him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Hordak pushed the woman off of him and stood tall. “I renounced my creator long ago. I am free.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The redhead tensed again, and Hordak braced himself for another lunge—but then a slender, russet-furred cat girl stepped in between the two and stood face-to-face with Hordak’s attacker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back off,” Catra declared. “This clone sucks in a lot of ways...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ex-emperor’s red eyes narrowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...but he’s not evil, and he’s under our protection.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The redhead put a hand on her hip, looking Catra up and down. “You’re seriously protecting him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know all about the evils the Horde committed,” the dark-haired girl replied. She pointed back at Hordak. “But She-Ra herself believes this man can change.” Then, she shrugged. “Who am I to argue?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She-Ra?” the redhead asked. “You’re the Etherian delegation...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One and the same,” Hordak replied, stepping forward to stand by Catra’s side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, the woman looked back and forth between the duo. Her mouth tightened into a tense expression. “I don’t trust Horde clones... but my family has stories of our world’s ancient friendship with Etheria. We owe your people a great deal, so... so I’ll let him go just this once. That’s what my parents would do, at least.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The feline girl nodded. “Works for me. This is Hordak, and I’m Catra, by the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman folded her arms. “To most of these snooty folk, my name is Elmora. But if you call me that, I’ll punch you. I’m El.” She winked. “Or She-Demon, if we’re close.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hordak suppressed the urge to growl in frustration as Catra proceeded to stammer over her subsequent words. As the feline girl tried to construct a reply, El smirked and vanished back into the crowd, still fighting her all-too-froofy dress for control.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who the heck was she?” Catra asked at last.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hordak’s eyes narrowed, tracking the girl’s passage across the ballroom. “Yes... who indeed.” He glanced at the brunette. “You left Adora on her own?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw you were having trouble,” she replied, snatching a finger sandwich from a passing man’s hand and popping it into her mouth, seemingly ignoring the furious glare she’d earned in return. ‘Besides, I’m not a talker. Better to leave that to the fancy-pants princesses.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How was it going when you left?” Hordak asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra grimaced. “Not great. Henri seems like a real stick-in-the-mud.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am certain my presence does not help,” the clone muttered. “I should have stayed behind with Entrapta and the others.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. Way.” The cat girl socked him in the upper shoulder. “We need your expertise. Besides, you needed to get out and have a good time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am the dread emperor of Etheria,” Hordak declared with a hiss. “I have no need of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>good time</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra shot him a sidelong glance and rolled her eyes. “Sure, dude.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk had not had such fun in </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span>. As the New Horde camp frantically rallied to their vehicle bay—where they would find every last skiff in flames—he strutted down the central avenue wearing a helmet he’d stolen from one of the men he’d knocked out before setting the fires. Even though he lacked the entire rest of the uniform ensemble, the soldiers of the New Horde were so used to their compatriots wearing elaborately decorated gear that nobody questioned him as he went.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, the ongoing panic probably helped as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello,” he said to one group of officers as they ran past him headed in the opposite direction. “Greetings,” he said to another group. “Fine night for adventure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sea Hawk!” came Netossa’s urgent voice over his comm link. “Status report!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Phase one complete,” the pirate replied cheerily. “Implementing phase two.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing’s gone wrong? I was sure something would go wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing at all!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you say so...” the princess murmured. “Meet at the rendezvous in ten minutes. Don’t be late!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why, Netossa,” the dark-haired man declared, pressing an open hand to his chest. “I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> late!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes you are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes I am!” He smiled. “But only because I am so very important and popular.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just get your part done,” Netossa drawled, hanging up with a beep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk smoothly navigated the rest of the way through the campsite until he ended up outside the massive top secret tent Double Trouble had told them about. He noticed that both guards stationed outside the tent had been knocked out and dragged aside to one corner. Just as he arrived, two figures ducked out of the tent, carrying a massive, cloth-wrapped bundle roughly the size of an average kitchen table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, friends!” Sea Hawk declared, pulling off his helmet and tossing it aside. “I see you have secured our cargo. Excellent work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up and help me carry,” Lonnie replied. “This thing is </span>
  <em>
    <span>heavy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pirate hurried forward to help Lonnie and Double Trouble support the misshapen object. The texture felt softer and stranger through the fabric than Sea Hawk expected, and it kept flopping and shifting in unexpected ways that made it difficult to carry as the trio began tracing their way around the campsite.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I only left one skiff functional,” Sea Hawk explained. “It’s parked just on the other side of that large, green triangle!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You mean to say,” Double Trouble replied, grunting under the weight, “that you left our escape route behind the General’s quarters?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” the pirate looked down at his feet, furrowing his brow. “That’s not good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop right there!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trio froze, straining to support their sloppy package as three figures blocked their path: The General themself, flanked by two fancy-looking officers which Sea Hawk assumed were especially high-ranking lieutenants.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You three are more skilled than I gave you credit for,” The General said in their digitally distorted, filtered voice. “But I cannot allow you to leave with my property. Put the item down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trio exchanged glances, fishing for any inclination of an idea for how to get out of this mess. Gritting his teeth, Sea Hawk adjusted his grip and settled into a fighting stance, ready to take on the enemy with his feet alone if he had to—but before anyone struck, a slender dark-skinned woman rolled into the space between the two groups and released a wide, shimmering net that enclosed the three Horde fighters—who all immediately began pounding to get free.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excellent timing, dear,” Double Trouble declared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get moving,” Netossa muttered, sweat beading on her brow. “Can’t hold this for long.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crew began to shuffle down the path and around the net, moving as quickly as they could toward their destination. Netossa circled the enclosure with them, backing slowly away from where she kept their enemies trapped. Sea Hawk looked over his shoulder and saw the net torn and beaten to almost a breaking point—until finally the Horde overwhelmed the princess’s defences and broke out to begin running after them. Netossa stumbled backward, breathing hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, the General and their men began blasting the ground around the crew’s feet as they closed in, forcing them to step erratically and singing the tip of Sea Hawk’s favorite shoe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re trying to avoid damaging the package!” Netossa realized. “Use the item as a shield!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we sure that’s safe?” Lonnie asked. “Exploding bag of lumps is not how I wanna go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s our best shot,” the net princess replied. “Now let’s go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With Netossa joining them to help carry, the team managed to start jogging while carefully positioning their package to keep them out of sight. Sure enough, the shots dropped off as their pursuers slowed and stopped firing to protect the cloth-wrapped thing. A few moments later, they were dumping the bag onto Sea Hawk’s chosen skiff. As soon as they did, the General and their friends began shooting again, but the crew were already assembled on the vehicle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sea Hawk pushed the lever forward, rocketing himself and the others out of the camp faster than he could shout: “Farewellllll!”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Episode 18: Dressing Down</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Swift Wind makes a friend, Sea Hawk tells a story, and Catra scores an unexpected victory.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> She-Ra: In The Wake </span>
</p><p>Episode 18: Dressing Down</p><p> </p><p>“QUITE THE FALL YOU TOOK JUST NOW."</p><p>Groaning, Swift Wind blinked his eyes open to see a familiar feathered face looking down at him. Dimly, he realized that he was currently lying on his back halfway down the mountainside. The stormy night had passed, leaving only the bright, warm morning sun shining down onto his wings. The blades of grass around him prickled his snout, and he groaned as he slowly pushed himself upright.</p><p>“What happened?” he mumbled.</p><p>“Winds get wild way up there. You got blown all the way back down here to me.”</p><p>He peered at his companion. “You’re that harpy we met on the way over here!”</p><p>“Name’s Gayda, at your service,” she replied, bowing at the waist. “Where’s your mates?”</p><p>“I don’t know...” the alicorn said. “They must still be up there. I think they managed to find shelter.”</p><p>Gayda tsked, strolling around in a circle around Swift Wind as he got to his feet. “Better hope they didn’t run afoul of my family. The harpies haven’t been too welcoming lately.”</p><p>Swift Wind gritted his teeth. “That doesn’t matter. If they did, I’ll get them out. We have a mission to do, and Adora is counting on me.”</p><p>“Who’s Adora?” Gayda asked, hopping up onto the steed’s back. “You kept mumbling about her while you were knocked out.”</p><p>The alicorn puffed out his chest. “She’s my partner, and the coolest person I know. She trusts me to protect her home while she’s out in space, and I won’t let her down.”</p><p>“Out in space?” the harpy asked, lying back on Swift Wind’s spine to look up at the sky. “Wicked!”</p><p>“Yeah.” The horse nodded. “She’s pretty cool.”</p><p>He stretched his wings out wide and began to advance toward the mountain.</p><p>“Woah, woah, what are you doing?” Gayda asked.</p><p>Swift Wind paused. “Going back up...?”</p><p>“You can’t just fly back into there! You’ll get zapped out of the sky again!” the harpy cried.</p><p>“Alright, then what do you suggest?” the steed asked. “If you’re going to hang out on my back, you’d better help me help my friends.”</p><p>Gayda sat up and folded her winged arms, seeming to contemplate for a moment. She eyed Swift Wind’s determined expression, and then finally relented with a sigh. “Fiiine. I can show you another way up.”</p><p>“Now you’re talking.” Swift Wind reared up and pawed at the air with a triumphant whinny. “Lead the way, harpy girl!”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>“So... what <em> is </em> it?” Lonnie asked, staring down at their cargo with arms folded.</p><p>Scorpia rubbed at her head with one claw, circling the tarpaulin slowly. “Beats me. I’ve never seen anything like this.” She looked over at the person kneeling down next to the thing and inspecting it carefully. “What do you think, babe?”</p><p>“How odd,” Perfuma muttered. “This is definitely alive! Or at least... it used to be.” One of her floating vines slithered forward to poke at the entity. “It doesn’t look like any animal I know about, but I can’t control it at all, so it’s not a plant.”</p><p>“Whatever it is,” Double Trouble remarked, “the General was willing to attack us themself to stop us from taking it.”</p><p>The four crew members of Operation: Takedown stood together in one of the larger tents near the grove of the Heart-Blossom. After escaping the Crimson Waste, Sea Hawk and company piloted their skiff directly for Plumeria and contacted Scorpia to meet them there. This morning, they had all gathered here, in Perfuma’s makeshift lab, to investigate the evidence they’d stolen.</p><p>In the center of the space, on a simple blue-green tarp, lay an impossibly long and large black tendril, cleanly severed at the base as if cut by a massive blade. The length of the thing had vertebral ridges which reflected light in rainbow hues on their angular surfaces—not unlike a puddle of oil. When Perfuma tried to move it around with her vines, the tendril coiled and slid sinuously, making it nearly impossible to grip onto. The plant surfaces which came in contact with the entity rapidly darkened and began to decay.</p><p>“What if this is a weapon?” Lonnie asked. “Some sort of new First Ones’ Tech?”</p><p>“The First Ones never worked with biological materials like this,” Perfuma replied, standing up. “But Entrapta is the engineering expert, so she would know better than me.”</p><p>“Seems like it’s pretty obvious what this is, then,” Netossa said. All the others turned to stare at her. She looked back and forth between each of them. “Really? Come on! This is obviously an alien!”</p><p>“<em> What </em>?” Lonnie cried.</p><p>“Think about it!” the net princess exclaimed, pacing back and forth gesturing wildly. “It’s a living thing—or, part of one— that doesn’t look like any plant or animal on this planet. It’s buried in a crater in the desert, and it moves in freaky ways when we touch it.” She folded her arms and turned to face the others. “Alien. Duh.”</p><p>“So how did the General know where to find it?” Scorpia asked, stepping up next to Perfuma and taking her hand. “And what did he want to use it for?”</p><p>“Way back when I captained the Dragon’s Daughter,” Sea Hawk chimed in, sauntering up to stand before the tarp, “I encountered a most beautiful and terrifying sea serpent.” He raised his arms in a dramatic gesture, eyes glowing as he told his tale with as much pomp as he could muster.</p><p>“Which version of that ship are we talking about here?” Netossa asked.</p><p>“That sea serpent,” the pirate continued, ignoring her, “destroyed hundreds of the ocean’s finest vessels every year. It was the most terrifying thing on the high seas, and nobody knew how to stop it! The pirate business was in shambles...”</p><p>“Pirate... business—?”</p><p>“Then one unforgettable day, it was found on a beach. It had been vanquished by a sailor with a special cannon of magical power.”</p><p>“What does this have to do with anything?” Double Trouble asked.</p><p>“When I saw that sea serpent defeated,” Sea Hawk concluded, “I didn’t care about the <em> monster! </em> I cared about the weapon powerful enough to defeat it.”</p><p>The six of them paused for a moment, turning to look again at the tendril. Finally, Lonnie broke the silence.</p><p>“Aw, crap.”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>“Will this really work?” Adora asked, re-reading the passage of text in her hands.</p><p>Glimmer nodded. “Their own laws say so. All we have to do is make sure everything is by the book.”</p><p>“They will fight us as soon as they realize what we are up to,” Hordak warned, looking over the Princess of Power’s shoulder and rubbing his chin. “The Councilors will hate any plan that suggests they will lose some of their power. We must be prepared to defend our claim.”</p><p>“We can do this,” Adora said. “I know we can. And now I don’t have to worry about messing up with Henri and Dora!” She stepped forward and pulled the other woman into a tight embrace. “Glimmer, you are the smartest and most wonderful best friend I could ask for. I can’t believe you figured this all out while we were gone.”</p><p>“I had a lot of help.” Glimmer glanced down at Bow’s snoring form. “Well... I had a <em> little </em> help...” All of a sudden, she found herself yawning. The gesture spread like a contagion, catching Adora, Catra, and even Hordak in their own yawns.</p><p>“I don’t know about you guys,” the feline girl commented, “but I need some rest.” She groaned and stretched, pulling off her sandals. “Partying is hard work.”</p><p>“Yeah, Catra’s right,” Glimmer mumbled. “We can work out the rest of this plan tomorrow morning. G’night guys.”</p><p>Slowly, the group dispersed to join their slumbering comrades in their bank of various rooms and beds. After changing out of her dress and into pajamas, Catra clambered up the ladder to her upper bunk and curled up facing the wall. She flashed back to an encounter from an hour before—one that remained stuck in her mind.</p><p>
  <em> “Leaving so soon?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Catra turned around to see the redheaded face of El, hands on her hips, standing at the edge of the pavilion and looking at her. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The feline girl shrugged. “We’ve got an early morning tomorrow. Plus, I think Adora managed to offend the host, so...” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “That’s a shame.” The She-Demon tilted her head. “I was hoping I could steal a dance.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Catra felt her face grow warm. “I, uh... look. Listen—” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “That’s what I’m doing,” Elmora smirked. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Ohhh boy,” the dark-haired girl muttered, dragging her hands through her hair and mussing up the careful half-bun Glimmer had worked so hard on. “You’re pretty, um...” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> El grinned. “I’m pretty?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You’re pretty cool!” Catra blurted. “You are pretty. Cool.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> She looked over her shoulder, to where Adora and Hordak waited out on the lawn, locked in an intense debate. The blonde princess seemed to shine in the moonlight, and Catra couldn’t help but stare in wonder at her solemn, determined expression. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Oh,” El said from behind her. “I get it.” Catra looked back at her to see the redhead smiling. “Who could measure up to She-Ra, huh?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I love her,” Catra said. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The She-Demon smiled wider. “Aw. You really are a softie.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The feline girl’s brow furrowed. “Whatever.” </em>
</p><p><em> “Why do you travel with </em> him <em> , though?” El asked. </em></p><p>
  <em> Catra could tell who she meant by the tension in her voice. She sighed. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Hordak and I have a lot of history. I helped him do horrible things in the name of the Horde. I was worse to him than he ever was to me. But in the end, he helped us defeat his own creator.” She looked up and met the redhead’s eyes. “If I deserve a second chance, so does he.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> El watched her for a quiet moment, and then nodded slowly. “Alright, I’m convinced. You’ve got my vote.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “What?” Catra asked. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The redhead winked. “Princess Elmora, Councilor of Phantos—at your service.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> With that, El turned around and sauntered back into the ballroom through the massive doors, leaving Catra standing in shock out on the lawn. After a moment to gather herself, the feline girl slowly turned away from the bright lights and ran to join the others as they headed back toward their quarters. </em>
</p><p>As Catra closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to lull herself, she felt the mattress sag a little as a new body joined hers. Adora scooted up behind her and wrapped her arms around the dark-haired girl’s waist. Catra couldn’t suppress a low, rumbling purr of contentment.</p><p>“Well, hello.”</p><p>“What?” Adora asked. “You didn’t expect me to leave you all alone up here, did you?”</p><p>Catra shrugged. “I dunno—apparently Glimmer is your smartest and most wonderful best friend...”</p><p>“Oh, no!” the blonde’s eyes widened and she pulled her lover in tighter. “Catra, you mean so much to me and I promise I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, sometimes I get so nervous looking at you that I can’t even breathe, and then I—”</p><p>Catra’s squeaky laughter interrupted the taller girl’s panicked ramblings. “Adora, I was <em> kidding </em>. You and Glimmer are great together, and I know that will never hurt what we have.” She scooted around and rolled over to look the blonde in the eyes, propping her head up with her arm. “But tell me more about how I make you nervous...”</p><p>Adora’s expression was flat and humorless. “No. You don’t deserve it, you jerk.”</p><p>“Dork.” Catra laughed again. “I love you so much.”</p><p>Adora’s face softened. “I love you too, Catra.”</p><p>The feline girl’s mismatched eyes stared into the princess’s sky-blue ones. “We’re going to stay together, right?”</p><p>“I’m not gonna leave you ever again.”</p><p>They kissed, and then slowly drifted off to sleep together in the close, dark quiet of the night.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Episode 19: Never Alone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Adora gets a space rash, Catra wishes she had lawyers, and Galen Nycroft has really let himself go...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Episode 19: Never Alone</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ADORA?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Swift Wind? What are you doing here? ... Actually, where IS here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea. Do you see anything?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Everything else is kinda... blank.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...</span>
  <em>
    <span>are we dead?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! Swift Wind, we are not dead. A few minutes ago, I climbed into bed with Ca—um, into bed, and then—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why is your face red?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not red!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop doing that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it some sort of... space rash?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“SWIFT WIND!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay... The last thing I remember is camping for the night in a cave with Gayda.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In a </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?</span>
  </em>
  <span> With a </span>
  <em>
    <span>who?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah. That’s a looong story. Basically, King Micah and Castaspella and I are all on a quest to find the source of these ultra-dangerous magic storms that are all over the place. Except, we kinda got separated and now I don’t know where they are—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>what—</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“—but I have a new friend who’s helping me search! Her name is Gayda; she’s a harpy. She’s kinda mean. Anyway, I am confident we will find them within the week.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, for the love of Grayskull.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At least, we’ll find them if I ever figure out where I am. ... I still think we’re dead...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are NOT dead! We must be dreaming or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooh! Our special bond! </span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re communicating magically across all of time and spaaaace!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please stop singing. Also, we’re only communicating across space. I don’t think we’re able to communicate across time. How would that even work?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe the magical timeline of our bond is outside of the normal flow of space-time, so that if our lives become out-of-sync, the bond will still keep us linked according to its own timeline! We will be linked forever, but tragically divided by centuries...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need to stop stealing Mermista’s science fiction books.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never! ... But really, how </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> you doing, Adora?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, Swift Wind. Everyone is looking to me to save the entire planet again. We have a solution to this Council thing, but... I’m going to have to take on an even bigger burden to fix this one. What if I can’t handle it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey—it’s okay to not be ready for something new.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I have to do it anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then do it anyway. Do what you </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span> do. None of us will blame you for not being perfect. If you’ve done all you can, the rest is never your fault. And don’t be afraid to lean on your friends, your girl, and your trusty steed, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Swift Wind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course. What else is a magical partner for?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dumb jokes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I resent that. ... So, if this is a dream... what happens when we wake up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We take on our new challenges alone, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah. Never alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah... never alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The final day before the trial passed by far too quickly. Glimmer explained her overall idea to the assembled team of Adora, Catra, Bow, Entrapta, Hordak, and Melog (the last of whom didn’t seem to register her meaning, but trilled in support all the same). Then, they split off into teams to prepare their case against all possible counterarguments.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While Glimmer and Entrapta re-read the Council’s founding charter and the charges against She-Ra to make sure they hadn’t missed any details, Bow called home and consulted his dads for their perspective on the plan. In the meantime, Catra and Hordak grilled Adora in a mock court, tearing into her arguments and forcing her to defend every statement she made. Melog, energized by the tense atmosphere, darted around the room frantically from person to person throughout. By the mid-afternoon, the entire crew was exhausted, and Glimmer finally called them to take a break and recuperate before the evening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Glimmer sat against the wall, watching Adora nap on Melog a few feet away, Entrapta sidled up next to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think she’ll be okay?” the engineer princess asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer nodded. “She always is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She-Ra doesn’t have any special lawyer powers,” Catra observed grimly, appearing on the pink-haired princess’s other side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She-Ra doesn’t matter,” Glimmer replied. “I believe in Adora.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other women exchanged a glance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Catra said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta rubbed at her chin. “Me too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At last, the dusk came and they could prepare no more. One by one, the friends disappeared into their beds to find what rest they could before the endeavour they would undertake in the morning. At last, only Hordak remained, staring at the snippets of paper and holographic messages plastered across the wall. For a moment, he felt the urge to reach out psychically and consult the hive mind of his brothers. He felt an odd stabbing sensation as he caught himself—one part regret, and one part shame. How easily he had forgotten.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned and looked up at the bunk where he knew Adora lay, Catra curled protectively around her. Adora was their hope against these lords of the planet... these rulers of the galaxy. An iron-willed determination settled in his core, and he vowed to himself that no matter what happened the next morning, he would do whatever it took to keep She-Ra alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How quickly things changed these days.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Blip. Blip. Blip.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, the doctor blinked his eyes open, clearing the stinging fog that had descended over the last hours of work. He looked like a mess—his lab coat had been torn and stretched, and the left sleeve was entirely missing from the shoulder down. He lifted his head slowly, stringy locks of hair hanging in matted clumps across his face as he pushed himself upright on the desk. His bloodshot eyes stared through the curtain of dark hair and met the large metal box which sat on the tabletop before him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he watched, a neon green light flashed on the black screen in front of him, illuminating the harsh, sallow angles of his cheeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bleep.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The light flashed again.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bleep.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, the scientist’s mind registered what he was seeing before him. He surged up out of his chair, and grabbed blindly for the light switch on the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Birdbat!” he called into the darkness. “Birdbat, activate! The detector is wor—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, his fingertips met the small panel he searched for, but before he could press down to activate it, a sudden, surging pain wracked his outstretched left arm. He cried out, fingers clenching and twisting... backwards. His arm curled in the wrong direction, skin bubbling as it distorted into a nauseating whorl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Doctor Nycroft grunted, grasping at his deformed limb with his other hand and pulling it close to his chest. He gritted his teeth and groaned, suppressing further cries as the arm continued to morph and change, splitting in half and then reforming into a crustacean-like claw, before finally shrinking back to its regular shape. The doctor took in a couple of deep breaths, and then reached out again to switch on the white lights that illuminated his workshop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the space flooded with the harsh glow, two things became readily apparent: the first was that the doctor’s arm had become a vibrant, crimson red which bled back to his natural pale skin midway up his bicep. The second was that on the box’s display feed, a series of interstellar coordinates were displayed, along with the words: ENCOUNTER IMMINENT.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Galen’s eyes widened as he read the location numbers. “No.” He reached a hand up and dragged it across his scalp, pulling a large clump of hair away with it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Onscreen, a ticking clock counted down, showing approximately four hours left until zero.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Episode 20: The Trial of She-Ra</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which things go very, very wrong.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Episode 20: The Trial of She-Ra</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“WHAT DID YOU SAY?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora straightened her back, mustering all the confidence she could find. She currently stood on a dais in the middle of a massive forum made entirely of white marble and gold adornments. On five balcony seats arranged in a semicircle high up on the wall before her, the sitting members of the Interstellar Council stared down at her with intense expressions. The sixth seat sat empty on the far end.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned to Henri—the spokesman for the Council who had asked the question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said the Interstellar Council is made up of six civilizations,” she declared. “Is this true?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, but—” Henri replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said the Council’s charter orders that all six seats must be filled at all times by a member of the appropriate species,” she interrupted. “Is this true?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.” A different Councilor had replied that time. Adora looked over to see a young woman with vibrant red hair—maybe just a couple of years older than her—hiding a smile as she observed the blonde princess.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said the Eternian seat has been vacant since their suspension, which was ordered to end when their war against Horde Prime finished,” Adora continued. “I said the war is now over, the suspension is complete, and there are no First Ones left to take that seat. Is. This. True?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“YES.” That answer came from the metallic, red-and-blue robot who represented Robotica: Councilor Digiton.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Except, I am a First One by blood,” the Princess of Power concluded. “I am the last Eternian. And so... I nominate myself to take the sixth Council chair.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The redhead (Adora remembered her name as Elmora?) erupted into wild laughter, while Henri’s expression looked thunderous. On his left, Dora sat tall and straight-backed, her eyes narrowed as she assessed Adora calmly. On Henri’s right, a figure swathed entirely in a hooded purple cloak leaned forward, gloved hands gripping the arms of his seat. Twin white dots shone from the otherwise pitch-blackness of his hood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“HER ARGUMENT IS LOGICAL,” Digiton observed. “THE SEAT MUST BE FILLED. THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT. I MOVE TO ACCEPT HER PROPOSAL.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the purple-cloaked figure bolted to his feet. “You would simply hand a Council seat over to a complete stranger? May I remind you she is still on trial?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Zalt’s just jealous she’s about to get a seat for free,” Elmora taunted, “when it took him twenty years to scrounge one up through lies and tricks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The purple-cloaked Councilor—Zalt—pointed a trembling finger at the redhead. “I will NOT take such disrespect from a pubescent child and a glorified toaster!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The robot stood up. “YOU DARE, ZALT?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Enough!” Henri shouted, and the others went quiet. “All of you take a seat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the councilors obeyed, Adora looked up at the spokesman from Intriane, meeting his gaze with her own steely expression. Henri sneered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We will take a vote,” he declared. “All those in favor of abandoning the trial and appointing Adora of Eternia to the Council say aye. All those in favor of rejecting her proposal and continuing the judgment, say nay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aye,” Elmora shouted with a grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Digiton’s head whirred as it turned to look at the princess. “AYE.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nay,” hissed Zalt, leaning back in his chair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Henri lifted his chin. “Nay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A moment of silence passed. All eyes turned to Dora, who sat forward in her chair, finger steepled against her lips. Adora held her breath, waiting for the final vote. This decision would break the tie and determine once and for all whether their crazy gambit was worth their while. She found herself wishing her friends had been allowed to come into the chamber with her for support. Instead, she had to face this all alone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At last, the Councilor of Setna lowered her fingers and took in a breath. “I vote...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she could speak her choice, the entire palace rumbled and the marble room cracked. Dust fell from the vaulted ceiling above as the ground beneath them suddenly and violently shook.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As the walls shuddered under the powerful shock, Catra’s tail bushed up and she grabbed at the mattress. Her extended claws ripped through the fabric as her pupils narrowed and she teetered on the edge of panic. Beside her, Glimmer bolted awake, lavender sparking from her fists.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re under attack!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the feline girl hissed, backing up into the corner of the upper bunk and baring her fangs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Catra, come on!” the princess cried, reaching out to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After only a moment of hesitation, the cat girl clasped Glimmer’s hand. Together, they vanished into a flash of light just before a chunk of the ceiling above them crushed the space they’d just vacated. Melog, curled up on the floor below, yowled and ran out of the room to meet them as they reappeared in the hallway. As the Krytian crossed the threshold, the entirety of the room suddenly collapsed in on itself, leaving only a wall of rubble to block the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra and Glimmer looked up and down the hall. The open, airy floor plan of the palace was crumbling around them, and they realized the guards normally stationed outside their quarters had disappeared. As one of the pillars in the distance came crashing down, Hordak and Bow burst from the room next door to theirs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Glimmer!” the archer shouted, tackling his girlfriend into a tight embrace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog pressed up against Catra as she met Hordak’s narrowed eyes. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have a theory,” the clone growled, throwing aside his torn, dust-covered cloak. “Pray I am wrong.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow and Glimmer pulled apart and the group formed a ragged huddle, shouting over the sounds of destruction and chaos around them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glimmer stretched her wings. “Does anyone know where the trial room is?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow was smacking at the side of his data pad. “This thing’s been haywire all morning.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Melog can find her,” Catra said. “Where is Entrapta?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hordak gritted his teeth. “She snuck out to check on the starship.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Up above them, a massive gash opened in the roof and the fivesome scattered to avoid the chunks of marble which fell and smashed on the ground between them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wordlessly, Catra mounted Melog. “Adora and I will meet you at the ship.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Catra, wait!” Glimmer cried, stepping forward to grab her hand—but it was too late. The Krytian and her rider were already bounding away. Bow stepped up and placed a hand on the pink-haired princess’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll keep them safe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glimmer nodded. “Okay.” Then, she pulled him close and kissed him with a terrified fervor. When they broke apart again, she put a hand to his cheek. “Come back to me, please.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow smiled. “See you in a bit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that, the archer turned and ran off, unslinging his bow as he went. Glimmer watched him go for a moment, and then turned back to Hordak, her face determined. The two nodded to each other, and then set off wordlessly in the opposite direction of their friends.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Catra leaned down close to Melog as they went, hugging the alien cat as tightly as she could. She clenched her eyes shut as pulverized grit and glass coated the both of them, the dust kicked up around the Krytian’s paws and falling from the ceiling and walls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please find Adora,” the dark-haired girl muttered through her teeth. “Please find Adora. Please find Adora. Please—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Melog yowled and skidded to a stop as the entire expansive pavilion in front of them was suddenly crushed, vanishing beneath an impossibly massive form. A shiny black tentacle the size of the Dragon’s Daughter IV lashed out in a semicircle, carving a gash that stretched across the floor, up the right wall, and halfway through what remained of the ceiling. The tendril looked like it was made of tessellated obsidian plates, glinting in sickly hues of purple and green that made Catra nauseous as she looked at them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Frantically, the Krytian scrambled backward as the tentacle carved its way forward. As the stone touched the surface of the monster, it seemed to melt into the black body like a sugar cube dropped in water, dissolving out of sight. Two more, smaller tendrils erupted through the walls beside it, devouring more and more of the area as Melog and Catra tried and failed to gain ground against the thing’s relentless advance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Up above, movement caught Catra’s eye and she glanced upward to see a lone blue-tipped arrow arcing gently over the two of them, looking like it would land on the floor several feet in front of the largest tentacle. As the arrow neared a point roughly five feet above the floor, a second, thinner arrow sliced through the sky in a straight line, puncturing the blue tip of the slower-moving arrow. When the two projectiles hit one another, they exploded in a blast of freezing cold, and when the fog cleared, Catra saw that they had created an ice barrier that spanned the width of the hallway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment there was quiet, and then the ice thrummed and began to crack. Catra hauled on Melog’s mane, wheeling her around with a hiss to see Bow standing thirty feet away, longbow still raised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on!” the feline girl shouted. “Let’s go!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not needing any further encouragement, Melog exploded into a sprint and quickly closed the ground to the archer. As they passed him by, Catra grabbed his arm and hauled him onto the Krytian’s back. Melog seemed to grow larger in response, making more room to carry the two.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is </span>
  <em>
    <span>happening</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Catra shouted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Bow cried in reply. “Did you find Adora?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra squeezed her brimming eyes shut tight. “No.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somewhere behind them, the ice wall exploded with a thundering crash.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Galen stared, expression haunted, at the video screen. The newscaster spoke in voice-over as the live satellite footage continued to run.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The attack began approximately ten minutes ago, and we still have no outgoing communications from the planet surface. The entity punctured the atmosphere two thousand miles west of the Palace Capital, and seems to be approximately Class 3: planetoid in size.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The doctor continued to watch in horror as the Eater carved its way into the side of Intriane, millions of tails piercing, curling, and burrowing into the planet and hollowing it out piece by piece. The abomination’s progression was agonizingly slow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Galen looked down at the data pad in his hands. Onscreen, simple blue text read: ATTEMPTED COMMUNICATION FAILED: RECIPIENT UNRESPONSIVE. TRY AGAIN?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The scientist clenched his jaw, the skin on his neck bubbling and writhing. He reached out with a thumb and selected the button labeled YES.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The tablet beeped, and then the display changed to say: CALLING BOW... ATTEMPT FORTY-SEVEN. PLEASE WAIT.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Evacuation procedures are now in effect for all planets in the Intriane quadrant.” The newslady sounded shaken now. “Which includes our interstellar station. We will continue to bring you constant updates as we prepare to abandon—um, transfer to a secondary location. This is, uh... th-the second Eater attack to occur since Horde Prime was overthrown. The first resulted in the destruction of Alka-1 and a-all residents.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The data pad beeped: ATTEMPTED COMMUNICATION FAILED: RECIPIENT UNRESPONSIVE. TRY AGAIN?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>CALLING BOW... ATTEMPT FORTY-EIGHT. PLEASE WAIT.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Episode 21: Planetfall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Intriane is lost.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is significantly darker in tone than the story has been so far. Don't worry—this fic won't turn into a grimdark fest, but things do get worse for our friends before they get better, so I wanted to give a heads-up before the fact.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Episode 21: Planetfall</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Councilors shied away as the brilliant light faded, revealing the armed and armored Princess of Power. Above them, more tremors rumbled, shaking the grandiose chamber and sending dust and debris crumbling and falling to the floor. She-Ra tightened her grip on her longsword and moved for the tall wooden double-doors that led out into the rest of the palace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where do you think you’re going?” hissed Zalt from behind and above her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She-Ra paused to look back at them. “This place is in trouble. We need to find out why.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We already know why,” Elmora said. She was standing in front of her chair, next  to a member of the Council Guard who had just finished murmuring in her ear. “Intriane is under attack. By an Eater.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She-Ra’s blood ran cold. The other people in the space made audible gasps and wails—sounds of shock and terror. Dora slowly rose to her feet, and Zalt staggered back to lean on a pillar. For a moment, the room fell still and silent as the people inside fell to crushing despair. Then, She-Ra hefted her blade and shone warm, radiant light across their faces.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All of you,” she declared. “Follow me, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>. We lose nobody today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A deafening pause, and then the room shook and cracked as a low, rolling boom rushed through the palace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s GO!” Elmora shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jolted into action, the five Councilors and their dozen-odd Guard began hustling down from the high balcony to join She-Ra at the room’s massive main doors. They moved just in time, because as the last of the Guard were stepping off the stairs down to the main forum floor, a massive serrated tendril punched through the ceiling and obliterated the central dais. One of the Guards who had fallen behind disappeared in the explosion of stone dust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kellan!” a guardswoman beside She-Ra shouted as the man was struck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She-Ra put out an arm to hold the Guard back. “Don’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, the oil-slick surface of the Eater’s arm slithered out of the cloud and traced along the ground toward them. Though its main trunk looked to be twice the circumference of She-Ra’s armspan, this segment of the arm tapered to roughly the width of her shoulders. Wherever it touched the floor, the white marble seemed to melt into watery liquid that pooled into the obsidian glass of the Eater’s body—absorbed until it vanished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get behind me,” She-Ra ordered, pushing the Councilors and soldiers back and taking a half-step forward to meet the approaching snake. She stared at it, and then took a deep breath. “Grayskull be with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes and sword blazed with blue fire. Hefting her sword and flipping it in her grip, She-Ra clutched the hilt with both hands and drove it down into the arm. The blade sliced into the creature’s body and sunk through, pinning it to the floor below. A sickly green sludge bubbled from the wound, smoking as it advanced. A high, multitudinous shriek emanated from the length of the tendril as it writhed in place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The party of survivors coughed and gagged, backing away from the advancing pool of Eater blood. She-Ra released her sword and stepped back to avoid being overtaken by the tar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kellan?” said the soldier woman again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She-Ra looked up to see a humanoid figure lurching out of the settling dust. Kellan’s body had been turned to the same black glassy substance as the Eater, and he rattled in chorus with the pained monster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is not him any more,” Dora warned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Null,” Zalt breathed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She-Ra and the others backed away until they reached the doors. Without warning, the null barrelled toward them with a shriek. Its arms—sharpened and deformed into claws—swung wildly through the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“GO!” She-Ra shouted, raising an arm to body-block the onrushing creature. The null latched onto her upper arms, digging into her flesh. She cried out in pain, hefting a booted foot and kicking the thing backward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The null’s claws raked gashes down her arms as it stumbled backward and fell into the pool of Eater blood, where it continued to writhe and scream. She-Ra groaned, clutching at her arms. The edges of her wounds were already tinged with green. She stepped backward and staggered out into the hallway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The edges of her vision swam and her knees buckled. As she slumped, she dimly felt someone catching her before she hit the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Melog pushed herself as hard as she could, bounding through the winding passages in search. On her back, she felt the tumultuous minds of Catra and Bow. The latter flooded her with tension and fear, always watching for danger with three arrows at the ready. The former felt... small. Her emotions were a tiny, trembling core of fear, despair, and fury.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And there, tucked away so tight: a splinter of hope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Melog felt it—and then she felt her. At the very edge of her perceptions, she picked up the mix of caring, doubt, and determination that she knew could only be one person. She changed directions on the spot, going back the way they had come and turning a tight corner in pursuit of that signal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra’s core of emotion sparked, picking up on the change. “Melog?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She found her,” Bow murmured. “Come on, Melog. Take us to Adora!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Krytian sped up her pace and at last barreled into a wide open crossroads, bringing the trio face-to-face with roughly twenty ragged-looking survivors. Catra practically leapt from her back and raced toward the tall, strong blonde, who was half-slumped and supported by a Council Guard and a shiny man from whom Melog sensed nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adora?” Catra asked, taking the Princess’s face in her hands. “Hey. Adora, wake up. Can you hear me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde raised her head slowly, blinking her eyes open. “Hey... Catra.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra let out a half-laugh, half-sob, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Hey. Hey, hey, hey. You’re back. We’re back.” She sat up and then noticed the ugly scars on her lover’s arms with a hiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“SHE HAS BEEN POISONED,” the metal man said. “BY A NULL. SHE NEEDS URGENT MEDICAL AID.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another rumble ran through the palace. Catra’s eyes widened. “We need to carry her. Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Melog started forward to help, but then She-Ra spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” She raised her head and slowly began pushing herself to her feet. With Catra’s help, she straightened up and let out a deep breath. “I can do this. Come on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra looked into her eyes for a moment, but then nodded. “Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the Guards lifted her chin. “We need to get to an off-world transport.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bow stepped forward, taking She-Ra’s other arm. “Our ship is still on the landing platform. We can use that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s move, now,” Elmora barked. “That tentacle might break loose any second now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Energized once more, the band of refugees steeled themselves and resumed their determined pace—desperately seeking their way to an escape.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The drive core is holding for now,” Entrapta shouted as she rushed into Darla’s docking bay, “but I don’t know how many more tremors we can take. This experiment is becoming </span>
  <em>
    <span>dangerously volatile</span>
  </em>
  <span>—and not in the fun way!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hordak gritted his teeth. “We need to get off this planet before one of </span>
  <em>
    <span>those</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he pointed out the open dock to the waving tentacles in the distance, “finds us over here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> leaving without the others,” Glimmer retorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The clone growled. “We have waited too long already.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!” Entrapta shouted, pushing her way between the pair and pointing down at the far end of the landing platform. “There they are!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group of haggard survivors advanced across the open space toward the ship, She-Ra in the lead atop Melog, flanked by Catra and Bow. Behind them followed the Interstellar Council and what remained of their Guard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on!” Glimmer shouted, racing to the edge of the ship’s ramp. “Hurry!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The refugees picked up their pace—and then the landing platform shattered beneath them as a massive quake split the stone. Darla heaved and began to slide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darla!” Entrapta yelled, her hair grabbing hold of Hordak and one of the pipes on the ceiling. “Engage thrusters and hover at altitude!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Acknowledged,” the computer chirped over the intercom, pulling the ship up off of the crumbling stone and holding it in place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer surged out of the port, wings spread wide as she glided across the deteriorating span to tackle the rest of the Best Friends Squad and teleport them into the ship’s dock. As she reappeared and set the others down, she turned back and flew out again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glimmer,” Bow gasped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She reappeared again, this time holding Dora and three of the Council Guard. Then, she turned to go out a third time, but was knocked back into the ship as a tendril exploded from the ground and consumed what was left of the landing platform, sending Darla spinning through the sky. Entrapta lunged for the open hatch and spread her purple locks wide. Her improvised net kept the others from falling out as the ship’s AI righted itself several hundred feet away from the ruins of the mountainside palace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darla!” Hordak yelled. “Close the ramp and fly for space! Leave the planet atmosphere </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” Glimmer cried. “We have to save the rest!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sparkles,” Catra said, grabbing her shoulder. “They’re gone. They’re... gone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, the metal ship felt impossibly still and silent. The only sound anyone heard as Darla rocketed out into space and left Intriane behind was the quiet sniffling of tears for the lost.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora awoke feeling more sore than she ever had in her life. Ever since finding the Sword of Protection, she hadn’t had to worry about pain from battle—the aching of her muscles seemed not to carry over once she stopped being She-Ra, though the mental fatigue and the energy needed for the transformation still took a toll.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right now, though, she felt like she’d been bruised inside and out, then wrung out and left to dry. Still, her condition was strictly better than it had been not long before. The null’s poison had made her feel truly ill, but the nauseating sensation seemed to be all but gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blinked her eyes open to see two mismatched ones looking down at her. Catra’s face was solemn, but she pressed a fervent kiss to Adora’s forehead when she saw her stirring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re safe,” the princess murmured, letting out a slow breath. “Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she slowly sat up, she became aware of the surroundings—she was lying on the bed in the room she shared with Catra. The room they’d been in that first night after escaping Horde Prime, so long ago. Adora then realized that they were not alone in the room. Across from the two lovers sat a woman with golden-metallic skin. The Ambassador. Dora.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are exceptionally lucky,” the Councilor of Setna said quietly. “A lesser warrior would not have been able to fight off the poison the way you did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Adora asked, pressing a palm to her aching head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I voted aye,” the woman replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora blinked. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glimmer, Bow, Melog, Entrapta, Hordak,” Catra said, “all survived. And Banning and a couple of other Guards.” She closed her eyes tight. “Nobody else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora’s blood chilled. “But that means—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We lost the Council,” Dora finished. “All of them.” She stood up and stretched her neck. “I just wanted to tell you in person that I vote aye. The motion passes—you are officially the Councilor of Eternia. I hope you’re ready, She-Ra, because now it’s just you and me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Ambassador exited the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Catra and Adora to cling to each other in the silence that followed.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello, readers! It's been a minute, so I wanted to give you all an update on the future of this fic.</p><p>I have a plan for where I want this story to end, but it's a ways off still. I have plans for at least three more big arcs, as well as a handful of mini-stories that will be resolved along the way. For reference, the three main arcs that this story has had so far are The General (E1-5), Leech (E6-10), and The Trial of She-Ra (E12-21).</p><p>That means I expect this story to run at least 30 more episodes (approx. 10 episodes per arc)—maybe more. I want to keep a semi-steady update schedule, but know that even if all else fails I will be back here writing next summer at the latest.</p><p>Thanks for keeping up with this! I'm thrilled to have so many folks reading along.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Episode 22: Soft Landing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which the chapter title is a lie.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> She-Ra: In The Wake </span>
</p><p>Episode 22: Soft Landing</p><p> </p><p>ADORA SLEPT FITFULLY THAT NIGHT.</p><p>She lay on the mattress, head fuzzy and vision dark, for what felt like an eternity. She assumed she had to have slipped into sleep here and there for a couple hours at least, but couldn’t quite discern where her waking thoughts ended and her dozing dreams began. She didn’t even have the displeasure of tossing and turning—Catra lay half-draped over Adora’s body and any significant movement would have woken the shorter girl up.</p><p>Her forearms still stung a little, though the scars had been wrapped up completely in bandages. She would need to re-dress them in the morning. Hopefully the null venom wouldn’t hinder the healing process. Adora couldn’t afford to lose any time that could be spent training.</p><p><em> Not that any of my training helped at all on Intriane, </em> she thought. Her own words stabbed at the much less literal scars from the Eater attack. She’d never be able to forget that in the darkest hour, when everything came down to the wire, she’d failed as spectacularly as she could have. She counted the faces she’d left behind. <em> One, two, three, four... </em></p><p>In desperation for a release from this limbo, Adora closed her eyes and tried to stretch out her senses into the void around them. Maybe she could connect with Swift Wind again and find out how the others were holding up.</p><p>She tried as hard as she dared, but she couldn’t seem to grasp his mind through their empathic link. She could sense him, thinking and acting on the other end of the bond, but the connection seemed muffled, like an image viewed through a frosted glass wall.</p><p>Abandoning that avenue, Adora snapped open her eyes and stared at the featureless wall on the other side of the room. Everyone else had to be asleep by now, leaving Darla to run the autopilot. Adora wondered if their sleep schedules were even aligned with Etheria’s day and night anymore. Probably not, given the length of the days they’d been pulling.</p><p>
  <em> One, two, three, four... </em>
</p><p>She couldn’t do this.</p><p>As delicately as she could manage, she inched herself sideways to the edge of the bed. In a flash of light, she summoned her shield and used it to gently lower Catra to the mattress. Then, Adora pulled herself aside and got to her feet.</p><p>“Mmmph,” the brunette mumbled into the pillow. She blinked her yellow eye halfway open and looked up. Adora noticed that her pupil was almost fully round. “Baby?”</p><p>The blonde suppressed a snort. <em> That </em> was a new nickname. She crouched down and stroked Catra’s cheek, murmuring softly. “Hey, beautiful. Stay there. Get some sleep.”</p><p>Catra purred, closing her eyes and wriggling around on her back. Adora pressed a kiss to her forehead, and the feline girl wrapped her arms and legs around her lover.</p><p>“Catra,” Adora said, smiling despite herself. “You have to let me go.”</p><p>Catra smirked into the blonde’s chest. “Never. You’re gonna marry me. We’re gonna... marriage...”</p><p>The princess raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “I will. Okay?”</p><p>Catra—half-asleep as she was—seemed to be satisfied by this and allowed the taller girl to slip from her arms. “Okay.”</p><p>Adora left Catra on the bed with another peck on the cheek. She stretched her back and cracked her neck as she slipped out of the room and padded down the hallway to the room Bow had outfitted with a punching bag and some training mats.</p><p>She paused in the doorway and looked back the way she’d come. She made a mental note to ask Darla what marriage was.</p><p>Sealing the hatch behind her, Adora moved to the pile of gear in the corner and pulled out some strips of cloth. Then, she wrapped her hands and knuckles up and eyed the bag that hung from the ceiling.</p><p>“Hiyah!” she shouted, flashing her right leg up into a powerful round kick.</p><p>She followed up the assault by darting in close and delivering an upset fist to the lower end of the bag, right where an opponent’s stomach would be. Then, she danced backward on her toes, bringing her arms up to guard her face as she circled her stationary foe.</p><p>She jabbed with her left hand, followed up with a right cross, then a left hook, and finished with a right cross. <em> One, two, three, four. </em></p><p>Already breathing harder, Adora rolled her shoulders and noted the tension and soreness just above her armpits. Even before she’d become She-Ra, years of diligent training in the Horde had built up her lean, athletic structure to a powerful degree. Her arms had muscle behind them—more than they appeared to at first—and she’d only become stronger and faster in the time she’d spent in the Rebellion.</p><p>Yet even though she made every movement perfectly and hit every strike square on the bag, she still imagined herself missing the target over and over. In her mind’s eye, her fists and feet went wide every time. Adora tried to force her mind to picture herself succeeding, but she couldn’t get it to obey her. She only saw herself stumbling and flailing as her stoic foe watched in silence.</p><p>
  <em> One, two three, four. </em>
</p><p>Clumsy.</p><p>Useless.</p><p>Failure.</p><p>“Adora?”</p><p>She stopped, breathing heavily through her nose and mouth. Slowly, she lowered her fists and turned to see her best friend—one of the many she was lucky to have—standing there, one hand combing her sparkling pink locks out of her eyes.</p><p>“Hi Glimmer,” the Princess of Power murmured, snatching up a towel to wipe the sweat from her face. “What’s up?”</p><p>“I, uh...” The Queen of Bright Moon looked down at her feet. “I couldn’t sleep, and I heard you training.” Glimmer looked up, and a pang ran through Adora’s chest as she saw the tears in the other girl’s eyes.</p><p>The blonde stepped forward and pulled her friend into a tight hug. Together, the two women composed themselves.</p><p>“I’m glad you’re here, Adora.”</p><p>“I’m happy you are too.” They broke apart. “Do you want to spar with me?”</p><p>“... Yeah.”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>Hordak awoke to sirens.</p><p>Darla’s smooth, synthetic voice repeated calmly, over and over: “Impact imminent. Impact imminent.”</p><p>A thundering crash shook the vessel as he pushed himself off his cot and staggered to the doorway without bothering to change out of the loose white tunic and trousers that doubled as his nightclothes.</p><p>As he made his way up the hall, Glimmer darted past him carrying a large, smoking hunk of metal.</p><p>“No time!” the princess exclaimed as he opened his mouth to ask her what was going on.</p><p>On the command deck, Entrapta fiddled with a control panel while her hair punched commands into a screen several feet away. Bow wrestled with the flight controls on the other end of the room, and Catra sat in the command chair with her claws digging into the metal.</p><p>“We’re one hundred miles out from the atmosphere,” the feline girl called out. “BOW!”</p><p>“I can’t slow us down!” the archer shot back. “The burners are still offline!”</p><p>“Just one minuuuute,” Entrapta exclaimed. “Everything will be fine! All I need is Glimmer to get back with the replacement discharge regulator.”</p><p>"Have the refugees made it to the hangar yet?" Bow asked.</p><p>Catra pushed a button on her seat. “Hey, Adora. How are you doing out there?”</p><p>The She-Ra’s voice came back through bursts of static. “Not great! Wish we had our shields online!”</p><p>Entrapta switched places with her hair, moving to type on the console while her purple locks went to fiddle with the open paneling and the circuitry within. “The Eater’s attack destroyed the main deflector hub! The entire system is melted away as if it never existed. This phenomenon is <em> fasci—” </em></p><p>“Would someone tell me what is going on?!” Hordak shouted.</p><p>“We. Are. Crashing,” Catra hissed through gritted teeth as another hit juddered through the frame of the ship.</p><p>“Sorry!” She-Ra shouted over the radio. “That one came from beneath.”</p><p>“We ran into a magic storm on the edge of Etheria’s gravity well,” Bow called, picking up his data pad and swiping through complicated graphics. “Adora is outside the ship, deflecting as many of the energy flares as possible, but we’re coming in too fast and I need those burners online now!”</p><p>Glimmer burst into the room, nearly knocking Hordak over as she shoved her way to Entrapta’s side and handed off a shiny new piece of machinery. Entrapta immediately abandoned the console and set to work installing the device.</p><p>“Took you long enough!” Catra sniped, her tail bushy and fur standing on end.</p><p>Glimmer whirled around. “I went as fast as I could! I can’t teleport on a moving vehicle!”</p><p>“AAAGH!” She-Ra’s cry of pain reverberated through the speakers.</p><p>Catra bolted up from her seat. “Adora!” she and Glimmer cried in unison.</p><p>This time, the ship took the full brunt of the strike. She-Ra appeared in the viewport as she tumbled through the void and slammed into the glass. Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface rapidly, and Hordak knew before it happened that the window would not hold.</p><p>He lunged forward across the room and pulled Entrapta back, away from the paneling.</p><p>“Wha—Hordak?!” she cried out.</p><p>The clone ignored her. “Get out of the room!” he shouted, pushing her across the room toward the doors that led out into the hallway.</p><p>Entrapta’s eyes widened as she stumbled backward—but then understanding dawned in her mind and her locks of hair immediately lashed out to grab Catra, Bow, and Glimmer and pull them after her. One strand also reached out for Hordak, and he stretched out a hand to grab it—but they were too far apart. Before he could lunge forward, the viewport shattered and he fell backward into space.</p><p>His back flared with pain as he impacted another body. He grabbed onto it and found himself staring into the unconscious face of Adora as he gripped her forearms.</p><p>As the pair were sucked out away from the ship, Hordak felt the air leave his lungs. His vision dimmed and his blood broiled. The sound trickled out of his ears, into nothingness. He looked past Adora to see that they were about to hit a particularly large flare of blue energy.</p><p>He closed his eyes tight as the magic washed over them.</p><p>And then he heard nothing.</p><p>And then he heard... birds?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Episode 23: Blast From</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which there is a group hug, the amount of colorful wings on the show increases by 50%, and Adora comes face-to-face with She-Ra.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Episode 23: Blast From</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>CATRA TOOK SHORT, SHALLOW BREATHS, DESPERATE TO PIERCE THE DARKNESS.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The wreckage pressed in around her, and she heard the groaning of the ship’s metal frame creaking and crumbling down. She couldn’t hear the others.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A-Adora,” she rasped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She saw it happen again—the explosion of glass out into space, Adora and Hordak vanishing into the magic storm, and then the blast doors sealing them off from the compromised bridge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A distant, muffled voice called from somewhere above her. “Catra!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knew that voice—it was the one that had saved her when she thought nobody could ever pull her out of her own ruin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wheezed again. “Glimmer...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No use. Her voice was too weak and hoarse to get any volume. She blinked hard, tears brimming in her mismatched eyes. Here she lay again. Nobody could fix this. Not this time. She had almost pulled her way free. She had been so close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunlight peeked into view as the sheets of metal above her were dragged out of the way. She barely registered how impossible that had to be—Darla’s structure was impossibly heavy. Who could lift that?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A spark of hope ignited in her heart. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Adora?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The shadows resolved into twin silhouettes—one small, with far too many limbs, and one tall and strong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We found her!” one of the figures called out. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Kitty, you look terrible. Oh, come here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A deep, maroon claw took Catra around the waist gently and pulled her up into a delicate embrace. She realized that the smaller figure’s limbs were, in fact, hair. The metal debris collapsed back down with a crash as the duo pulled Catra free. The feline girl scanned the scene with wild fervor, blinking as her eyes readjusted to the light of day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crashing vessel had carved a long, deep gash into the surface of the wooded region. Melog nursed Bow’s wounds, licking them with her tongue. They sat surrounded by several of the Intriane refugees in similar levels of mild to moderate injury. Only a couple seemed to be unconscious. A team of medics, led by the willowy shape of Perfuma, moved through the victims and tended to them one-by-one. Dora sat curled up under a tree several feet beyond them, unmoving but eyes open. Glimmer stood atop the twisted wreckage, searching the surroundings in the same way Catra did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two women met eyes, and Catra asked the question with her eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is she...?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The Queen gave an imperceptible, grief-stricken shake of her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra felt empty, everything immediately fading into deadened silence. She hardly noticed when the two people on either side of her slowly urged her into a seated position, leaning her back up against a newly-severed tree stump. Catra looked between them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On her right, Scorpia fussed over every inch of her, already applying antiseptic and doing her best to unroll bandages without ripping through them. She rambled incessantly the entire time. “...lucky we saw you on the radar or we’d never have made it so fast. Oh, this’ll heal right up. You’re gonna be just fine, bestie. You’ll be okay. You know, I once fell from...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra slowly drifted her gaze to the left, where Entrapta sat with her face concealed by massive red goggles. The geek princess stared up into the sky in silence. Catra understood. The feline girl slowly lifted her fingers and took hold of Entrapta’s hand. For a moment, there was nothing. Then, the purple-haired princess squeezed Catra’s hand, and she squeezed back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra reached up with her right hand and wordlessly pulled Scorpia into a one-armed embrace. She guided Entrapta to join them in their group hug, and there the trio held on to one another as tightly as they could.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the ragged band of crashed folk finally arrived outside the Bright Moon halls, they stood in silence at the edge of the courtyard. What was there to say? To do?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glimmer?” Perfuma said, stepping up to the pink-haired queen as the procession slowed. “We need to talk. Before you go in there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer rubbed at her forehead, wings twitching. “What is it, Perfuma?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The flower princess fiddled with her hands, growing and shrinking a small yellow bud as she worked up the nerve to speak. “Something, um... something important has happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Important?” Glimmer giggled, much to the bewilderment of those in earshot. “We ran from a planet as it collapsed into a giant monster. She-Ra disappeared into a magical blue flare. We crash-landed back home, and there’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> stuff happening?! We don’t get any breaks! None!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pushed forward, stalking into the reception area and heading for the throne. “Whatever it is, it can wait. We need to focus all of our efforts and resources on finding Adora—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“—and Hordak,” Entrapta interjected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything else doesn’t matter,” the sparkly-haired princess declared. “I don’t want to hear it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” Micah’s voice came from the far end of the open space, stepping out into the open. At his side, Swift Wind appeared. The steed scanned the crowd expectantly. Another figure followed them into the light, iridescent wings shining.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer froze before her throne and stared at the newcomer. “...Mom?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, darling,” Angella replied with a small smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A flash of brilliant blue energy split the sky up ahead. She-Ra tightened her grip on her sword and redoubled her pace, pushing through the foliage. Whatever they were doing over here, she certainly hadn’t expected magic. Perhaps she’d underestimated her foes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She emerged into the open space and saw the dozen-odd warriors gathered around what looked like a small, fresh crater.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I advise you leave that alone,” she called at them, hefting her blade before her. “I’m taking you in. Don’t try to resist.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thugs scrambled for their weapons, turning their attention onto their old foe. She-Ra could tell their leader apart by her specially adorned armor. The warriors used color to denote status, and the brilliant red feathers woven into the leader’s hair, paired with the blue and yellow paint on her chestplate, clearly set her apart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Princess of Power gripped her sword hilt with both hands and settled back into a sturdy stance. “Last warning!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The warleader growled. “ATTACK!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They came at her in a wide cone. Most of them attacked her head-on with clubs and blades, but there were four with various ranged weapons—a bow and some stolen energy blasters—that hung back to deliver harrying fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She-Ra swung her blade in an arc, releasing a crescent-shaped projectile of energy that knocked away the cluster of fighters coming at her from up ahead. The ones on either side got around the edges of the strike, though, and quickly closed on her like a pincer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pointed her sword at the one to her left and flared a brilliant light into his eyes, staggering him back. As he recovered from his blindness, She-Ra turned and focused her efforts to the right, cleaving easily through the other warrior’s quarterstaff and kicking her back with a boot to the chest. When the two hit the ground, she fired quick pings of light at their bodies, enveloping them in magical chains which held them to the ground, incapacitated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With the first assault dispatched, She-Ra turned her attention to the faraway foes, transforming her weapon into a shield and using it to deflect bolts and arrows between the ranged enemies. She returned fire with magic missiles of her own, and soon they also lay on the grass, defeated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The remainder of the melee-armed fighters regrouped into a clump and She-Ra set forward, slashing her way through them. She dispatched as many as she could reach, leaving them groaning and tied up. By the time the warriors broke and started to retreat, she’d defeated nearly all of them. She thought for a moment about pursuing the three who escaped into the trees, but then her attention returned to the smoking crater. Better to secure whatever they’d been investigating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She-Ra stepped to the edge of the crater and, with a single swing of her sword, dispelled the billowing clouds of smoke. There, lying on the rocky surface, were two people. One looked like an oddly-colored Horde clone, and She-Ra narrowed her eyes, leveling her sword at him. The other was a young blonde Eternian, who sat up and stared at She-Ra as if she’d seen a ghost.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mara?” the blonde whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She-Ra’s eyes widened. “How do you know my name?”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Episode 24: The Past</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Adora and Mara meet face-to-face, and the Super Pal Trio is reunited at last.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> She-Ra: In The Wake </span>
</p><p>Episode 24: The Past</p><p> </p><p>“TELL ME WHO YOU ARE,” THE OTHER SHE-RA ORDERED. “RIGHT NOW.”</p><p>Adora slowly pushed up onto her feet. “Mara, wait. Don’t be scared.”</p><p>“I’m <em> not </em> scared,” She-Ra hissed. She took a step forward and leveled the tip of the Sword of Protection at Adora’s collarbone. “How do you know my name?!”</p><p>“I promise, I’m a friend,” the blonde replied, raising her palms in surrender.</p><p>She-Ra pointed the blade at the figure still lying in the crater. “A friend who travels with a Horde clone?”</p><p>Adora gritted her teeth. “Hordak is... he’s not like the others.”</p><p>She-Ra laughed coldly. “I’m sure. Look, I don’t know how they’ve brainwashed you, or how you found us out here, but I’m taking you both into custody before—”</p><p>“I fight for the honor of Grayskull,” Adora interrupted.</p><p>She-Ra stopped talking. In a flash of light, she dropped her transformation and returned to her normal self—still clutching the Sword. Mara stared at Adora. “You... I haven’t told <em> anyone </em> about Grayskull.”</p><p>“Like I said,” the shorter woman responded, “I’m a friend. Hordak is a clone, yes—but he broke free of Prime’s control a long time ago... a long time from now...? It’s complicated.”</p><p>Adora stared at her predecessor, taking in the slim, brown-skinned figure. She had only seen Mara through visions and recordings before. In person, she suddenly appeared so much more... normal. When the tall and shining stature of the Princess of Power faded away, there stood a young woman not much older than Adora herself. Too young to have gone through everything that she’d had to face.</p><p>Mara studied Adora’s face with a faraway expression. Her eyes clouded over for a moment. “Do I... know you?”</p><p>“MARA!” A high, clear shout broke through the clearing and disrupted the moment. “Wait up! Where did you go?!”</p><p>Mara turned to look behind her, and she and Adora saw a girl in cloth and hide armor sprinting over the grass toward them. She skidded to a stop about ten feet away and leveled a quarterstaff, glaring at Adora with piercing green eyes. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and fell in loose curls around her tan face.</p><p>“Who is <em> that? </em>” she called out.</p><p>Mara shrank the Sword, transforming it into a small bracer on her wrist. “Teela, stand down.” She shot Adora a glance. “They’re not a threat.”</p><p>The blonde princess let out an internal sigh of relief as the newcomer dropped her battle stance. She’d rather not have to fight anyone right now. If she really <em> was </em> back in the past, she could do terrible damage to history by changing anything major—such as transforming into She-Ra in front of her predecessor. Not to mention, after seeing Mara fight, she wasn’t sure she could defeat the elder Princess of Power even if she wanted to.</p><p>“HORDE CLONE!” Teela shouted, breaking through Adora’s train of thought. She lunged for the crater, where Hordak was shakily getting to his feet.</p><p>“No!” Adora shouted, jumping between the two of them.</p><p>Mara’s eyes narrowed, but she put a hand on Teela’s shoulder and held her back. “Don’t. Apparently this one is... reformed.”</p><p>Teela snorted, but Adora ignored it. “He is,” she insisted. “He owes no loyalty to the Horde. He could help you spy on them! Right, Hordak?” A moment passed, with no answer. She turned around. “Hordak?”</p><p>The former emperor was kneeling on the grass, one clawed hand clutching his head. “I... can... hear them,” he muttered. “The hive is... so much stronger here.”</p><p>“He’s still connected to the Horde hive mind?” Mara folded her arms. “Maybe he <em> could </em> be useful...”</p><p>“Oh, come on!” Teela cried, whirling on her friend. “You can’t seriously want to take them back to camp!”</p><p>“Not to camp,” Mara said. “But we can hide them in the forest for now. Until we can find out where they came from and how much they know about Horde Prime and...” she leaned in closer to Teela and muttered, “the <em> project. </em>”</p><p>The curly-haired warrior folded her arms and set her jaw. “Fine.”</p><p>Mara stepped forward and looked at the two arrivals—Hordak kneeling on the ground and Adora beside him, holding his shoulders. “Follow me. And welcome to Etheria.”</p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>“Welcome to Etheria!” Angella declared, sweeping the Intriane refugees into the large central hall of Bright Moon.</p><p>As the Queen Mother led the procession through the castle, Scorpia hung back at the edge of the crowd next to Catra. Her feline friend had been quiet for the past day or two, pointedly avoiding company and snapping at interruptions. Scorpia recognized this version of Catra. It brought back bad memories. But so far, the cat seemed to be containing her grief to herself.</p><p>“Where is Entrapta?” Catra asked, scanning the crowd from beneath her dark locks of hair.</p><p>“Still in the lab,” Scorpia answered. “She’s been working non-stop since we got here. I don’t think she went to sleep last night.”</p><p>Catra nodded. “Yeah.” She stared forward at the head of the group. “Does Angella seem <em> weird </em> to you?”</p><p>“Well, uh,” Scorpia shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I never really got to know her before... you know.”</p><p>Catra stopped walking, and then made a sharp turn off from the rest of the group and disappeared down a side passage. Scorpia froze for a moment, looking between the fast-disappearing tour and the rogue feline. Catra paused halfway down the offshoot hall and looked back.</p><p>“Well?” she asked. “Are you coming or not?”</p><p>Scorpia smiled. “Absolutely!” She jogged rather un-stealthily after her friend.</p><p>“Something about that lady makes me feel...” Catra shivered, her fur fluffing up a bit. “She’s up to something.”</p><p>“I dunno, Catra,” the white-haired princess replied, squeezing through the narrow hallway after her. “Accusing Glimmer’s mom seems like a bad idea. Are you sure this isn’t just because Ad—”</p><p>“Don’t,” Catra interrupted. She stopped in place, squeezing her brimming eyes shut. “I don’t... I can’t...”</p><p>Scorpia placed a claw on her shoulder. “You got it. My lips are sealed up. Totally, completely locked.”</p><p>A squeaky chuckle escaped the brunette’s lips. “Thanks, Scorpia.”</p><p>After a moment, the duo continued on their way, weaving through the palace down side passages and avoiding guard patrols.</p><p>“Where are we going?” Scorpia asked after fifteen minutes of what seemed like aimless wandering. “Are you lost? I could help! But I’m not very good with directions.”</p><p>“We’ll be there in a minute,” her partner replied. “Stay quiet.”</p><p>Another ten minutes later, they finally emerged from behind a tapestry into an arched antechamber with two brilliant double-doors. Scorpia glanced behind them to see two more Bright Moon guards facing away from them.</p><p>“Glimmer told me about that passage,” Catra muttered as she padded up to the doors and unlocked them with a claw. “She used to sneak up here and teleport in through the doors when she had a bad dream.”</p><p>They slipped over the threshold and found themselves in a massive, airy suite with a huge double bed and all sorts of plants, pools, and decorations layering the available space.</p><p>“Is this the Queen’s room?” Scorpia asked.</p><p>Catra pushed the door closed. “Glimmer didn’t want to take it. She couldn’t sleep when she was in here.” She scowled at the trickling streams of water. “I don’t blame her.”</p><p>The two ex-Force Captains took in the space. This singular room stretched easily five times the size of a typical Horde barrack. The lavishness made them both a little uneasy. They were about to start moving again, when a <em> thud </em> from the next chamber made them both freeze. Catra shot Scorpia a glance, and then signaled to approach the archway into the side chamber together, from either side. Catra circled around to the far end of the opening, while Scorpia pressed up to the nearer wall. Black-and-red lightning crackled around her claws as she readied herself to face whoever lay beyond.</p><p>Catra raised a hand and counted down with her fingers. <em> Three... two... one... NOW! </em></p><p>The pair lunged out of hiding, yelling wildly at their foe. A third loud cry joined the din as they surprised the short, purple-haired figure on the other side of the archway. She spun around, massive thick locks spiderwebbing out around her head to strike—until they all realized who they were facing.</p><p>“Entrapta!” Scorpia exclaimed happily.</p><p>The geek princess clutched her data pad with one hand and pushed her goggles up with the other. “Catra? Scorpia? You saw it too!”</p><p>“Saw what?” Catra asked. “What are you doing in here?”</p><p>“Same as you!” Entrapta declared. “After analyzing the trace energy from the magic storm we impacted during our crash landing, I isolated an energy signature unique to Hordak’s original portal machine and traced it here!”</p><p>“Entrapta, we... we didn’t do that,” Catra replied.</p><p>The princess looked up from her data pad. “Oh. Then why are you here?”</p><p>“Catra had a bad feeling about Angella,” Scorpia answered. “I came along!”</p><p>“Good instincts,” Entrapta said, once again flicking through complicated figures on her handheld screen. “These readings certainly suggest an unusual displacement anomaly surrounding her. They don’t belong to this time.”</p><p>“What does that mean?” Scorpia asked, scratching her head.</p><p>Entrapta walked past her into the main room and flicked her goggles back over her eyes. She scanned the space, turning slowly on the spot and looking all around. “It means the magic storm’s space-time displacement effect impacted her too.”</p><p>“Displacement?” the feline girl asked, stepping forward. Something shone in her eyes. “You mean the storm... moves things around?”</p><p>“From place to place,” Entrapta agreed. “Or from time to time.”</p><p>“It doesn’t destroy them?”</p><p>Entrapta smiled. “It doesn’t destroy them.”</p><p>“Adora and Hordak are alive!” Catra exclaimed, breaking out into a relieved smile. Her mismatched eyes welled up again.</p><p>The trio’s moment of realization was cut off by the sound of hammering on the double doors. “Who’s in there? Open up!”</p><p>“The guards!” Catra hissed. “Come on!”</p><p>The feline girl bolted for the balcony, and Scorpia moved to follow her—then turned back to grab Entrapta from where she stood oblivious and pull her along with them. They ducked out of sight just as the guards broke open the doors and began sweeping the room. Entrapta grabbed the edge of the railing with one end of her hair and then used the rest to lower the three of them down onto an outcropping several floors below. Once the team was safely away from the scene of their incursion, they started breathing normally again.</p><p>Entrapta curled up on a seat of her own purple locks and pulled out a recording device, pacing back and forth across the guest room they found themselves in. “Bright Moon log, day three. I have made significant progress into my inquiries over the past sixteen hours! I have verified that the trace radiation emitted by the magic storm clings <em> only </em> to the entities that have directly come into contact with the storm itself. The time period these energies come from appear to vary, but there are unique patterns that I find noteworthy. Especially considering that the time period Queen Angella seems to be from matches both the residue on Darla’s hull, <em> and </em> the half-life of the Eater tendril retrieved from the Crimson Waste!</p><p>“In short, whatever time period Adora and Hordak are now located in is the same time that that Eater tendril was severed from the rest of the creature! And our newly returned Angella appears to have come forward from that same era.”</p><p>“Does anyone else have a headache?” Scorpia asked, running her claws through her hair.</p><p>“While the origin of the time storm is still unverified,” Entrapta continued, “I suspect it may be a side effect from Hordak’s failed portal experiment. The only question now is what line of inquiry to pursue next.”</p><p>“No,” Catra interrupted. “We know what we have to do next. We need to get Adora and Hordak back.” She took a deep breath. “We need to rebuild the portal.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Episode 25: Escalation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Razz mixes up some names, Entrapta gets down to business, and a harbinger arrives at Castle Bright Moon.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Episode 25: Escalation</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>ENTRAPTA BIT HER PEN AS SHE EXAMINED THE JUNK PILE BEFORE HER.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beside her, Emily whirred inquisitively, and the scientist absentmindedly patted her on the head with the end of a lavender-hued ponytail. Entrapta turned and looked at the other end of the room, where a pair of constructs were shakily lifting a curved section of metal into place on a larger frame.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrong Hordak!” she declared. “Status report.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A white-headed figure poked out from behind the partially-finished structure. “Oh—oh, of course!” The pointy-eared, green-fanged Horde clone sidled awkwardly into view, narrowly avoiding a collision with a fast-moving worker droid. “The physical structure should hold exactly as designed! However, we still require a suitably effective power source and accurate calculations.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta nodded, rubbing at her chin. “I know... Scorpia and Catra are working on getting us power. It’s up to me to figure out the proper space-time coordinates in a zero-point reference frame, while accounting for all new physical variables in this dimension AND accounting for interference from ambient magic!” The princess clutched her head and laughed maniacally—then stopped and stared down at her data pad and the unfinished scrawlings she’d left on the screen. “It would be fun if it weren’t almost impossible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrong Hordak stepped up beside her, eyes wide and ears drooping. “You cannot solve the equations?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta flipped her goggles down over her eyes. “I said </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost</span>
  </em>
  <span> impossible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She used her hair to push off the workshop’s concrete floor and pull herself up into the rafters, scribbling on her pad and muttering to herself as she worked. Wrong Hordak stood for a moment in the middle of the room, looking befuddled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back to work!” Entrapta’s voice called from above, and the clone snapped to attention and hurried off toward his next task.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Razz?” Mara called out, ducking her head into the small hut. “Are you here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The small space looked exactly like she remembered from her last visit. The warrior felt a pang in her chest as she remembered that day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Madame Razz?” she asked again. “It’s me, Mara. I, uh... I need your help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still no answer. The dark-skinned woman took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She’d have to find somewhere else to house the new arrivals. Mara turned and ducked back out of the hut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is this place?” Teela asked, leaning against the entryway as her partner reappeared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mara shifted where she stood. She glanced to the left, where Hordak sat curled up against a tree, still clutching his head. The blonde girl crouched beside him, looking concerned—though she didn’t seem to know how to help. “Just a place. Razz is someone I met while I was alone here with Light Hope, but she’s not here, so—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mara?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The women turned to see an elderly, hunched figure shambling out of the undergrowth. Razz looked just like Mara remembered, with her flyaway grey locks tangled with wild twigs and a wicker basket under one arm. Her big, beetle-black eyes stared out through her bottle glasses, the whites tinted yellow by the glass. A gap-toothed smile broke out across her wrinkled, purple face and she held out her arms as if for a hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mara smiled in relief and stepped forward to meet her—only for Razz to shuffle right past her and pull the young blonde into a tight hug. The dark woman felt a pang of hurt which was quickly overtaken by confusion and a touch of anger. What was happening?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Razz!” the fair girl exclaimed, standing up and holding the elderly woman’s arms. “You’re here! You look the same—how is that possible?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> her?” Teela asked, taking a step toward the pair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madame Razz grinned broadly. “Of course I do! Mara, you’re so </span>
  <em>
    <span>early</span>
  </em>
  <span>! This isn’t right... Why are you here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Razz, I told you,” the blonde replied, looking mildly exasperated, but still smiling. “I’m Adora. Mara is over there.” She pointed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, Mara felt dizzy. She pressed a hand to her forehead, leaning back against the house and taking a slow, deep breath. Ever since she’d arrived on this planet, Razz had been there. A mysterious, nutty, confusing friend—and the wisest confidante she’d ever had, with the exception of Light Hope. Yet, the old woman seemed more than a little crazy, and she insisted on calling Mara by a name that she’d never heard before—until now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your name is Adora?” Mara asked, mouth going dry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde shifted her weight uneasily. “Um. Yeah, that’s me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mara stared at her, once again feeling some strange sense of familiarity between them. She felt something tingle against her palm, and she realized she’d unconsciously reached over to grab the bracer which housed the Sword of Protection. She studied the newcomer’s face, brow furrowed. “Who </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teela stepped up next to her and put a hand on Mara’s shoulder. Distantly, Mara looked over at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Teela looked concerned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mara swallowed thickly and shook her head. “Yeah. Just got a little woozy for a second.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teela raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. “You don’t get sick. Not since you became—” She paused, glancing over at the others, who were currently huddled around Hordak. “You-Know-Who.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it,” the taller woman replied, forcing a smile. “I’ll be fine. I’m You-Know-Who, aren’t I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The one and only,” Teela agreed wryly. She glanced down at a communicator disk in her hand. “Listen, I just got a transmission from Light Hope. Let’s leave these guys here with Razz for now. We’re needed back at base camp, stat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mara eyed her. “Don’t tell me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teela smiled, but there was no humor in her expression. “Apophine is making her move.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Entrapta?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The geek princess ignored the voice, continuing to work from her makeshift metal nest in the rafters of the workshop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Entrapta!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, the purple-haired engineer kept at her calculations, trying to block out the distraction. She stuck her tongue out and hunched up tighter to stay out of sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“ENTRAPTA!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Waaugh!” she cried, startled by the loud noise and windmilling her arms as she tipped backward over the edge of the metal beam. Her twin tails of hair lashed out and grabbed onto the rebar around her, catching her so that she now hung somewhat awkwardly in midair. Slowly, she rotated around to see Glimmer standing on the workshop floor, arms folded. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sparkling princess huffed. “We need you upstairs. We have a visitor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta flicked her goggles up and cocked her head in confusion, but wordlessly lowered herself down to the ground—her locks of lavender hair using the structure around her like a jungle gym. She fell in step with the taller princess and examined her closely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened to your wings?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer smiled. “Oh, my dad taught me a spell to hide them away. Looks super cool, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta shrugged. “I guess so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you working on down there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The geek princess felt herself tense up. “Uhm... nothing! Just some preliminary test devices which might help us solve an anomaly I’ve been researching. The calculations are still in progress, but Wrong Hordak and I are prototyping the—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s... great, Entrapta,” Glimmer interrupted, looking as though she regretted the question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The purple-haired woman sighed in relief as Glimmer went on ahead. She squirmed a little at the lie of omission, but recalled the conversation she’d had a couple of days ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We can’t tell the others what we’re doing,” Catra stated, hands pressed to the table. Her shoulders were hunched up, and her hair fell in thick waves partway down her back. Her dark locks had grown out even farther, reaching her upper back now.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Scorpia’s brow furrowed. “But... why not? They could help get supplies, and Bow’s a great engineer—”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We can’t.” The feline girl’s jaw was set. “They would tell Angella, and she would know that we’re on to her.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Entrapta piped up then. “What if we told them that—?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That Glimmer’s mom is dead?” Catra interrupted again. She looked pained, and she gave Entrapta an apologetic look. “She wouldn’t accept that. She would fight us, and put everything at stake. And we can’t trust Bow and the others not to tell her.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Scorpia and Entrapta shared a look, but the two sighed and nodded. Catra was right, even if none of them were happy about it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m... I’m really sorry, guys,” the brunette muttered, brushing her fingers through her thick hair. Even though her hair had grown almost to its previous length, she kept it loose and hadn’t put her mask back on. “I hate this. I hate lying to them, and dragging you two into this with me. You deserve better.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We’re still friends, Catra,” the scorpion princess declared. “We’re in this together. As a team.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The cat cracked a small smile. “Okay.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Super Pal Trio hug?” Scorpia asked, holding out her clawed arms.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The two other women slowly stepped in and allowed her to pull them into a tight embrace. Entrapta usually wasn’t much for holding on to people—but it felt nice to have them close. Even though she now knew Hordak and Adora were alive, it had been a difficult few days. She was glad she had friends who understood.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>At last, Glimmer and Entrapta reached the upper level of Castle Bright Moon and emerged into the main hall. They proceeded past the rows of guards and into the war chamber—which had since been rebuilt as the planning chamber after the Horde was finally destroyed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Around the circular table, Entrapta saw all the familiar faces she expected. Micah, Castaspella, Swift Wind—all of whom had seemed a little odd since they’d returned from Talon Mountain—Bow, Gayda (why was she allowed in here?), a cloaked figure she didn’t recognize, and at the head of it all, Angella.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The fake one,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Entrapta reminded herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta also noticed two other familiar faces. Catra and Scorpia stood at the far end of the table, opposite Angella. Entrapta stepped up between them and gave them both a quick smile. Scorpia smiled back, but Catra’s gaze was locked on the person in the cloak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta looked over at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Princess Entrapta, I take it?” the hooded man asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took in a deep breath. “Good. I’m glad you’re here. Adora told me much about you. I hope you are as skilled an engineer as she claims, because I fear we will need every ounce of your skill if we are to survive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me,” Catra interjected, “but who, exactly, are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man sighed, pulling back his hood to reveal a pale and sallow, bald head. Ugly red patches blotched his neck and one of his piercing blue eyes seemed a little too large in its socket. “I am Doctor Galen Nycroft, and I’m afraid I bring very bad news.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Episode 26: The Eyes of Another</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Glimmer regains her resolve. Adora hallucinates about her enemies. A dangerous opponent is revealed.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Episode 26: The Eyes of Another</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>GLIMMER DID HER BEST TO STAY FOCUSED WHILE GALEN SPOKE TO THE TEAM.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knew she ought to keep her attention on the matters at hand, but her mind kept running away with her. In the last week, she’d seen her best friend get sucked into space and disappear, and then not even an hour later she found out her mother had come back from the grave right when she’d started to get a handle on her grief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Did she even really need to listen to the briefing? She wasn’t Queen anymore—not really. Angella had reclaimed that role in all but name, and Micah hardly left her side. Glimmer knew she should be overjoyed to have her parents back, but they’d been </span>
  <em>
    <span>strange</span>
  </em>
  <span> since returning from Talon Mountain—and nobody seemed to discuss what actually happened on that quest. Whenever she asked for details, they dodged her questions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her dad had been training her in magic again, and she really appreciated that. She’d learned all sorts of new spells and tricks, and getting the chance to spend time with the King had been the childhood she’d never had. Except, her parents seemed to take that idea a little too far. They treated her like she was that little girl again—she saw it in how they looked at her and how they “handled kingdom business” when she wasn’t in the room. Glimmer loved her mom and dad with everything in her heart, but she wore the crown of Bright Moon and she couldn’t just go back to being a princess.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I am the Queen,” she’d told Bow last night, sitting up in bed with her hands in her lap, staring into space. “I have responsibilities, and I can’t keep putting them aside. Not even for my parents.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bow—stars protect him—had reached out to take her hand and gripped it tight. “I can’t tell you what the right choice is, but I believe in you and I’ll support you. You’re going through something nobody else could possibly understand, and you’ve been strong and brave.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I can’t help but think...” Glimmer clenched her teeth and gripped Bow’s hand tighter. She tried to keep her voice steady as tears brimmed in her eyes—and failed. “I just keep wondering what Adora would do.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>At that, Bow pulled her into an embrace, and Glimmer became aware that quiet tears were now running down both of their faces.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I miss her too.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I don’t know how to be queen without you two,” Glimmer confessed. She led out a shuddering breath in between further tears. “Catra won’t even look at me anymore and I don’t know why. It feels like we’re losing everyone.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bow didn’t have an answer for that. What else can you say to the truth?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Even now, as Glimmer stood at the conference table, Catra steadfastly kept her gaze locked on everyone else. Glimmer felt a pang in her chest, but pushed it down into a ball with the rest of her tumultuous insides. She’d deal with all that when she could be alone again. For now, it was time to stop being sorry and start being Queen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For perhaps the tenth time since she’d left the hut behind, Adora questioned whether she’d made the right choice. Hordak still seemed like a mess, but she had to trust Razz could take care of him. She knew </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> certainly couldn’t—not without drawing on She-Ra’s power, and Adora didn’t feel good about doing that with Mara so close by. She’d felt an undeniable connection between her and her predecessor since they’d landed in this time, and from the looks of her, Mara had too. So far, the elder She-Ra hadn’t figured out what that link meant, and Adora didn’t want to risk changing their future by helping her find out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So she’d decided to stalk Mara instead. She’d been tailing the elder She-Ra and her partner since they left. If she could find their base camp and figure out what was going on there that had them so concerned, maybe she could get a better idea of what time they’d actually landed in and—even more importantly—how they could get back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora wanted to trust that the others would figure out what had happened. Maybe Entrapta could find a way to pull them back home—she’d worked with time portals before. But even then, the consequences of the experiment had been disastrous. Adora and Hordak couldn’t rely on their friends to save them.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They might even think we’re dead,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora thought to herself. She couldn’t imagine what that would do to them—especially Catra. They’d only just found each other, and now they’d been ripped apart again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pushed that thought aside. She would find her way home. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to, to save the universe... and to find the one she loved.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora’s thoughts returned to the present as Mara and Teela broke through the treeline off to her left and proceeded toward a walled-off encampment on the hillside up ahead. As they disappeared through the gates, Adora slipped through the brush and circled around the far side of the camp, making a wide circuit and doing her best to avoid detection. Once she left the trees, she’d be out in the open and would be easily spotted by any guards looking in her direction. After a full thirty minutes of creeping up and down the outside of the base, she gave up on trying to find blind spots in the guard rotation—clearly, there were none.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not for the first time today, she found herself missing Glimmer. Her friend would have been able to teleport right in, true... but even more importantly, she would’ve kept Adora’s spirits up. She could practically hear the Queen’s voice in her head, nudging her side with an elbow and raising one eyebrow. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We won’t give up, Adora. I know you can do it. You can come home.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora took a deep breath in, closed her eyes for a moment... and heard voices.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes snapped open and she instinctively snatched for the low, humming power within her body—but the sounds had stopped. She crouched there for a moment in the brush, scanning her surroundings. Whatever she’d just heard had completely vanished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora’s brow furrowed as she looked down at her hands. She knew better than to assume she was hearing things. As she kept hold of the core of She-Ra’s power that lay nestled in her chest, she felt an odd tugging. Someone else was drawing on the magic of the Princess of Power. It felt almost like her magic bond with Swift Wind, except stronger and harder to trace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mara,” Adora murmured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, she lowered herself into a cross-legged position on the ground. Concentrating on the warm, white light within herself, the blonde warrior closed her eyes and took slow, deep breaths. This time, when the voices filled her ears, she welcomed them, tracing the psychic connection back to the other end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though she could still feel that her eyes were closed, Adora’s vision cleared and she found herself standing in the center of a military camp of some kind. She felt taller, and a little older. Across from her, a group of three individuals stood as she yelled at them, pointing a finger at their leader. She recognized Teela standing at her side, seething at the trio just as much as she.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“—continue to push northward, we’ll displace the entire population from their homes!” Adora yelled, in Mara’s voice. “Apophine, please. I know you understand why we can’t do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’d be doing the exact same thing as the monsters we’re fighting,” Teela added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman at the head of the trio—Apophine—pursed her lips. “This project has come too far. We finally have a real chance to win this war.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teela shouted something back, but as the argument continued, Adora drew her mind back from Mara’s to study the people before her. On the left stood an androgynous figure in matte black armor, with pale translucent skin that showed black veins snaking beneath their skin. They had the muscle and bearing of a seasoned soldier, and wore their hair (which seemed to be made from spun silver) buzzed almost to the scalp. Their mouth—hard-edged, with a scar through the lips—had the same metallic silver sheen.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A Setnan,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora realized. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Like Dora.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>What was it Hordak had said when they met Dora? Setnans were named for their professions. Dora’s name was short for Ambassador. Adora wondered what this one was called.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On Apophine’s other side stood a smaller, hunched woman with hawkish features. Red-and-black feathers covered her body, with taloned feet and clawed hands. Adora studied her arms and realized they were wings. They were wings </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> arms. She had no clue how that worked, but somehow this woman had both, fused into one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At last, Adora turned to consider their leader. Apophine had drawn her ashen-white hair into a tight, utilitarian ponytail. She wore simple fatigues, with circular glasses on her nose and a satchel slung over her shoulder. She stood a few inches shorter than Mara—which still put her taller than an untransformed Adora.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you quit thinking about your </span>
  <em>
    <span>research</span>
  </em>
  <span> and consider these people’s lives?!” Mara’s voice exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apophine sighed, putting a hand to her forehead and closing her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“War is not without consequence,” the birdlike woman squawked, cocking her head at Mara/Adora and Teela.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, Hunga,” Teela spat. “We know what you stand to gain from letting us push out your competition from this corner of Etheria. You don’t care about the war.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The loss of some people on one singular planet,” the Setnan said, “is a necessary choice to save countless worlds.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that, both Adora and Mara stirred to anger. “No.” The two took a step forward, speaking as one. “As soon as you start treating </span>
  <em>
    <span>people</span>
  </em>
  <span> like </span>
  <em>
    <span>numbers</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you’ve already gone too far.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“While your perspective is always welcomed,” Apophine answered, “I’m afraid this is not your decision to make. The construction will continue.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re unworthy of your command,” Mara hissed, as the trio turned and began walking away across the dusty campsite.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apophine slowed, and then looked back over her shoulder. “And you’re unworthy of that sword.” She took a slow breath. “Good day, She-Ra.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora’s eyes snapped open and she pushed herself to her feet, disconnecting herself from the bond with Mara. She pressed an open palm to her forehead and took a couple of slow, deep breaths. The mental link that had allowed her to connect to Mara’s eyes and ears left her feeling disoriented for a moment. As she got her bearings, she ran back through what she’d just experienced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora didn’t need a magic power to know what project Apophine had been talking about. They were building the Heart of Etheria, right this moment beneath the earth. Mara and Teela were trying to stop them from hurting the planet’s people, but whoever these three officers were, they were determined to complete the machine no matter what.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, Adora felt a fire stir in her gut. She couldn’t stand by and let these people be torn apart by the Eternian Empire </span>
  <em>
    <span>or</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Galactic Horde. But... this wasn’t her place to intervene. She didn’t belong in this place or time, and if she tried to change anything...</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This has all happened already,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adora reminded herself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not my job to fix the past. I have to focus on getting home.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A hard-edged voice echoed from somewhere in her mind, sounding not unlike a bitter, violent Catra with her face shattered by Hordak’s dark portal. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phew, that’s a relief. I was worried you’d try to </span>
  </em>
  <span>save</span>
  <em>
    <span> them like you did with the Interstellar Council. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora clenched her jaw and shook her head violently, trying to erase the thought from her brain. She pushed down the mental image of her lover’s face, repulsed at the sight of her. Horrified by her failure. Counting on her to </span>
  <em>
    <span>be there</span>
  </em>
  <span> when the world falls apart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not now,” Adora muttered, blinking the words away. “I’ll find her for real.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, as she clenched her fists and set off through the woods to return to Madame Razz, Catra’s eyes lingered in the back of her mind.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>More coming soon. Happy winter holidays!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Episode 27: Catra. Catra! Catra?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Glimmer offers a fresh start, Adora and Mara make the author's job significantly harder, and Entrapta terrifies a small bird.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <span>She-Ra: In The Wake</span>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Episode 27: Catra. Catra! Catra?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“CATRA.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The feline girl tensed at the sound of Glimmer’s voice. Gripping her arms, she turned away from the balcony and stepped toward the elegant arches that led back into Castle Bright Moon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Catra, wait!” Glimmer pleaded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other girl froze, still facing away from her. Catra’s dark, messy hair fell across the side of her face, grazing the tops of her shoulders and obscuring her face. Glimmer couldn’t tell what feelings hid behind that curtain, but she’d finally managed to corner the brunette after a solid week of pursuit, and she refused to let this opening slip away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I don’t want to waste your time. You’re... you’re really busy, I guess? We haven’t talked about what you’re doing, but I barely see—uh. Anyway, you’re doing stuff. I just...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer pressed her hands against her face, wiping at her cheeks and breathing sharply out through her nose. She turned to face the rich purple skyline, watching as the last traces of orange sunset glow crept over the canopy of the Whispering Woods. Down below spanned the glassy waters and flickering firelight glows of Bright Moon and its people. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Her</span>
  </em>
  <span> people, bundled away in their homes and enjoying the first peace they’d known in all of Glimmer’s life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody down there knows,” she said quietly, watching the lamplights. “The Horde is gone, and they think that’s the end. They believe no more troubles are on the way, and they trust me to keep it that way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Catra heard Glimmer’s words, she didn’t show it. The feline girl continued to stand, still and silent and facing the light that spilled out from the castle. Glimmer kept her eyes turned toward the landscape below, but from the very corner of her vision, she thought she saw the dark-haired girl turn almost imperceptibly toward the balcony view.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nobody else can be queen for me,” she confessed. “Nobody else can know what I know or make the decisions that I make. Not Adora, not you, not my mom—” she cut herself off as Catra moved for the first time, shrinking her shoulders and taking another step for the archway. Glimmer drew herself upright and kept her eyes locked on the horizon, quickly speaking again to interrupt the feline girl’s exit. “I can’t know what you know, either. I can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>be</span>
  </em>
  <span> Catra.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I miss you.” And now came the tears. “I miss you a lot. When I had nobody else in the whole world on that ship, in that cell, I had you.” Her voice broke. “And I don’t know what I did wrong, but if you just tell me I promise I’ll do anything to—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer’s words stopped as, suddenly, the taller girl turned around and sank to her knees. Catra fell forward and clutched at the hem of the queen’s dress, tears of her own spilling over and staining the soft fabric.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t,” the brunette croaked. “Don’t say that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer sank down herself, taking hold of Catra’s shoulders and pulling her into the tightest hug she could manage amidst her own trembling. “I want us to be friends again. I want you with me. With all of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She almost missed the soft, hoarse reply. “I don’t deserve it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t, either,” Glimmer said. “So tell me what’s wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You won’t want me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer took Catra’s face and gently forced her to meet eyes. “We will. And I can prove it. All you have to do is talk to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Catra!” The blonde rolled over on the dirt and cried out again. “Catra, no. I didn’t mean to— I couldn’t— I—!” She sat up, breathing hard as her eyes snapped open. Her fair hair tumbled down over her shoulders in a dusty mess, flyaways and staticky strands sticking out in a tangled halo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few feet away, Mara drew her knees up to her chest and folded her arms over them. “Nightmare?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde—Adora, she’d called herself—blinked and locked her gaze onto the older girl. Then, realizing where she was, Adora seemed to calm down a little bit. “Yeah. Something like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s Catra?” Mara asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My...” Adora paused. “She, uh. We...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mara laughed. “Ah, one of those.” She leaned back, propping herself up with her arms and extending her legs out in front of her on the grass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the blonde extricated herself from the twisted mass of bedroll she’d gotten stuck in, Mara looked up at the shimmering stars that freckled the entirety of the night sky above. She sighed deeply, closing her eyes and trying to imagine herself transported back in time, to her first night on Etheria. Back when it was just her, Light Hope, and Madame Razz coming over to steal their rations for her pies. Back before the rest of the Eternian Armada arrived and started setting up a base on the planet for Apophine to complete her mysterious “project” she claimed would win them the war, once and for all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’s your friend doing?” Mara asked, trying her hardest to forget that said ‘friend’ was in fact a Horde clone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora settled down next to the dark-haired woman and huddled up into a ball. “Better. I don’t know what Razz did, but he’s stopped yelling. She said he’ll be okay in the morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad she could help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora nodded. “She’s a lifesaver. I don’t know what I would do without her help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A hard knot settled further in Mara’s gut as she remembered the look on Razz’s face the last time they’d spoken. The hurt and the fear. “Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not sleeping either,” Adora noted, scratching at her head. “I guess I’m not the only one with bad dreams?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not wrong,” Mara sighed. “I love my friends and I can always ask them for help, but...” She closed her eyes. “I shouldn’t complain. I took on a responsibility and I don’t regret my choice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But most days you still feel like you’re the only one holding the whole planet together,” the blonde finished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mara laughed quietly. “Yes. More or less.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora laid back on the grass. “Being She-Ra is hard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can say that again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, Mara’s eyes narrowed as she processed the blonde’s words fully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” She pushed herself to her feet. “How did you know who I am?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Adora asked, sitting up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dark-skinned woman stood over her, one hand reaching for the magic bracer on her other arm. Her eyes glinted with a hard light. “That is the third time you’ve spoken of something I haven't told you about. You know my name, you know my powers, and you know my oath. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Who</span>
  </em>
  <span> are you, Adora? Why has Madame Razz called me by your name ever since I first met her?” In a flash of light, the metal bracer melted and sprang into her hand, transforming into the Sword of Protection in all its glory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just traveling,” Adora stammered, lifting her hands defensively and shrinking back from the shining blade. “I’m passing through and I want to go home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop lying to me,” Mara ordered, bringing the blade to bear and transforming into the Princess of Power in a flash of white light. “Who. Are. You?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora hesitated at the swordpoint... and then slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, all fear had left her face and her mouth was set in a determined line. She pushed herself to her feet and stood upright, staring into She-Ra’s eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For the honor of Grayskull.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the shimmering blaze of color that followed, the blonde warrior grew in stature, strength, and magic. An instant later, the fearsome and stunning form of another Princess of Power stood across from her counterpart. Her rainbow aura cast dancing light through the deep purples and blues of the night sky, and the Sword of Protection dropped from She-Ra’s grasp as she collapsed to her knees, transforming back into young Mara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other She-Ra released her transformation as well, and again stood Adora, silhouetted against the stars. The blonde princess slowly breathed out through her teeth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t want to have to do that, but I guess I should introduce myself again.” She stepped forward and extended a hand to Mara. “I am Princess Adora of Etheria. I am She-Ra.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mara stared blankly at the proffered hand. She blinked. “Yes. Me too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Catra?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta flipped her facemask up, cutting the blowtorch power off and scanning the darkness of the basement workshop around her. All remained still and quiet as her gaze traced the area beyond the mostly-assembled portal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Catra? Scorpia?” she called out again. “Is that you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a moment, she shrugged and pulled out her voice recorder. “Bright Moon log, day fifteen. There seems to be a minor infestation within the workspace, as I continue to experience disturbances in my work. However, I have yet to catch sight of the creatures in question.” She paused, and hummed quietly to herself, scratching her head with a lone lock of hair. “Alternate hypothesis: I am beginning to experience vivid auditory hallucinations. This could provide fascinating subject matter for self-experimentation...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The geek princess was about to reignite her blowtorch when she heard the clattering sound once again, followed by the soft whoosh of wings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta dropped her tools and leapt up from her workstation. “Aha!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Startled, the shape burst from the pile of components and flapped quickly for the exit, coasting just below the rafters and ducking through one of the far doorways out of sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Emily,” Entrapta called, pushing herself up onto a seat of hair and quickly pursuing the avian intruder. “Let’s catch it and do some SCIENCE! AHAHAHAHA!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a groggy whirrrrr-blip, Emily’s lights blinked on and she pulled herself onto her metal legs, clattering after Entrapta through the cluttered workshop with somewhat less grace than usual as her systems continued to boot up. As she went, she knocked a large canister of sinister-looking blue sludge off of a table. The container landed with a clunk next to Wrong Hordak’s head—but the clone simply burbled in his sleep and turned over in his bedroll. Despite the danger of sleeping amidst Entrapta’s mechanics, nobody had yet managed to persuade him to take one of the guest rooms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Emily caught up with Entrapta’s fast pace, the geek princess shifted herself backward to take a seat on the robot’s head, repurposing her prehensile hair to snatch at the flying creature as it swooped frantically through the air. Entrapta pulled her shiny purple goggles down over her eyes and cackled again as their chase took them down several smaller corridors beneath the castle, into a region neither engineer nor robot had explored yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“AHAhahaha...” Entrapta’s laughter slowly faded as she and Emily came to a stop outside a tall, sturdy-looking autodoor cracked barely open on one side. Entrapta lifted her goggles and eyed the entryway. “Hmmm. Did it go in there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emily whirred in confirmation—but took an abrupt step backward as a loud THUD sounded from beyond the door, followed by a throaty groan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, Entrapta slipped off of Emily’s back and took a tentative step toward the tiny, cracked opening. “Hello?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No answer came from beyond, except more groaning. Emily whistled nervously, but Entrapta continued to slowly approach the opening, leaning forward to peek through the entranceway. As her eyes peered through the crack, they opened wide. The birdlike creature had indeed entered the room, and now perched carefully on a red, fleshy arm extended for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fascinating...” the princess murmured, pressing her hands to the wall to look closer—and accidentally triggering the door to open wide, allowing the light to spill through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Entrapta took a startled couple of steps back as the thing inside the room suddenly turned to stare at her. A strange, multiformed shadow fell over the geek princess’s small form as she looked up at the creature that cast it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good evening,” the thing said, in two voices at once. “I do regret you had to see this. And especially what I’m going to have to do now.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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